Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Watt. People on low and modest wages have the least capacity to deal with the rising cost of living. How are wage increases assisting Australians with cost-of-living challenges, and how is the Albanese government standing up for workers and getting their wages moving again?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator White. Senator White, along with many people on this side of the chamber, has dedicated her working life to assisting working people, including right here in the Senate.

You're right, Senator White: one of the best ways we can help Australians deal with cost-of-living pressures is by helping them get a pay rise. So, I'm proud to say that, under the Albanese government, we are seeing wages get moving again. Since coming to government a year ago, we've overseen the largest increase in jobs of any new government on record and the fastest annual growth in wages in over a decade.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know you don't like higher wages. We know you don't. One time it's spreadsheets, then it's higher wages—the things that set you off!

After a decade of the coalition's deliberate policy of keeping wages low, under the Albanese government we are now starting to see wages grow. Through our submission to the Annual Wage Review, we advocated for a real increase for Australia's lowest-paid workers.

Opposition senators interjecting—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Order! Minister, please continue.

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll tell you what, the things that set you people off! Higher wages, of all the things!

Through our submission to the annual wage review we advocated for a real increase for Australia's lowest-paid workers and the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review's 5.75 per cent increase to awards is the biggest increase in history and will help 2.7 million low-paid workers.

We've also delivered important reforms that are getting wages moving through the secure jobs, better pay bill—opposed by those over there—and we supported the aged-care work value case which delivered a 15 per cent pay increase to some of the hardest-working Australians—something the coalition refused to do.

I have noticed the various comments of Senator Cash, as the IR spokesperson, about these issues. She warned us when passing this legislation last year that it would potentially close down Australia. I don't know. I'm having a look around. It looks pretty open to me. She also said that our changes would take us back to the Dark Ages. I don't think they had iPhones in the Dark Ages, but apparently that's where we're going to end up. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator White, your first supplementary question?

Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Under the previous Liberal-National government, the bargaining system had become too rigid and legalistic, leading to a decrease in agreement-making. That certainly was my own experience, as you highlighted. Since passing the secure jobs, better pay act in December last year, how has the Albanese government delivered on its commitment to reinvigorating enterprise bargaining?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you again, Senator White. As I say, the Albanese government are proud to have done a lot already in our first 12 months to get wages moving again, even though we know it's the thing that those opposite hate most. Enterprise bargaining is key to getting wages moving again. Under the coalition it fell away and more people became reliant on awards than should have been the case.

Since our secure jobs, better pay bill was passed—against the opposition of those opposite—employers are now back at the bargaining table, many of whom have not been bargaining for many years. Thanks to our important secure jobs, better pay reforms, we've seen workers in traditionally feminised sectors accessing the supported bargaining stream to reach agreements across multiple employers. Workers in early childhood education are now using this stream to negotiate wage increases across the sector. We've got the single interest bargaining stream starting to be strengthened to stop a race to the bottom on wages and conditions. Every single one of these things was opposed by the LNP. Every single one of those wage rises that we called for was opposed by the LNP. We've now got a government that supports wage rises and that's helping Australians. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator White, your second supplementary question?

Linda White (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that, even when there are strong bargaining outcomes, some employers still use labour hire to undercut the pay and conditions of their workers. I, for myself, saw that day in, day out at Qantas, for example. What is the Albanese government doing to close the loopholes that some employers use to undercut employee pay and entitlements?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Unfortunately we have seen too many big employers in Australia use these loopholes to undercut people's pay. The Albanese government made it clear before the election, and we're making it clear now, that we want workers to have more secure jobs and better pay. And that's exactly what we're doing. We're raising the bar on awards, on enterprise agreements and on bargaining and lifting the floor for workers.

It's a shame we are still seeing some employers using existing loopholes to circumvent the pay and conditions of their workers, including by exploiting the use of labour hire. We acknowledge that there is a role for labour hire in our economy, especially for short-term surge workforce needs, but the system is being abused by too many employers at the moment to undercut people's pay and conditions. Currently our system allows for an employer to have an enterprise agreement that they've fairly negotiated with their workers, where the enterprise agreement has a fair rate of pay that's been agreed upon and voted up by the workers, but unfortunately we are seeing employers rip people off by exploiting labour hire. Our same job, same pay policy is designed to bring that to end. (Time expired)