Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator Watt. After a decade of deliberate wage stagnation under the Liberals and Nationals—those opposite—Australian workers and households are feeling the strain of cost-of-living pressures. Since coming to government, the Albanese Labor government has introduced a raft of reforms designed to ease cost-of-living pressures for all Australians. I note some of these reforms have just recently started to come into effect for working Australians. Minister, how is the Albanese Labor government's workplace relations agenda supporting wages growth and creating secure full-time work for Australians to help ease the cost of living?

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

Thank you, Senator Sheldon. As Senator Sheldon knows very well, our No. 1 focus in the Albanese government is easing the cost-of-living pressures for all Australians, and that's why our government is helping workers earn more and keep more of what they earn.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Five seconds into the answer, and they're already whingeing about trying to help Australians with cost-of-living pressures. That tells you all you need to know about the opposition.

Of course, we know that under the Albanese government every Australian taxpayer is getting a tax cut. Every Australian household is getting $300 in energy bill relief. Under Labor, there are more people in work. There are more women in work. More people are in full-time work, and, importantly, we're getting wages moving again.

Opposition senators interjecting—

I know you don't like wages moving again; thank you for reminding everyone!

We're also supporting measures to improve conditions at work. We're reducing the amount of unpaid work and burnout that workers are experiencing, through our right to disconnect, and we're ensuring a pathway to permanency for casual staff. We're seeing the highest number of employees covered by newly approved enterprise agreements in over a decade, leading to bigger pay rises and more productivity for employers. And we've backed and funded a pay rise for early educators and aged-care workers. That's because Labor governments fight for better wages and conditions. We fight for more secure jobs, and we fight for safer workplaces.

One of the ways we've done that is by closing the loopholes that businesses have been exploiting at the cost of workers. As Senator Sheldon knows—I was with him, and Senator Sterle, in Sydney only a couple of weeks ago, where members of the Transport Workers Union filed an application to close some of the loopholes they've been experiencing. That means that food delivery workers, gig workers, couriers and truckies now have better conditions available to them because of our closing-loopholes legislation. We're seeing flight attendants, cabin crew and mine workers get pay rises from the Albanese government's same job, same pay legislation. We're getting wages moving again. (Time expired)

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

Senator Sheldon, first supplementary?

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given Mr Dutton and the coalition voted against the government's policies to protect Australian workers and get wages moving, how are the Albanese government's reforms helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn while relieving cost-of-living pressures, and why are these reforms so important?

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

Senator Hume, we'll get to you. You've been very helpful over the last couple of weeks!

As you've heard me say before, our government is delivering on tax cuts for every taxpayer and a pay rise for 2.6 million low-paid Australians. Across the three annual wage review decisions, minimum wage earners are now getting an extra $143 per week. That's 2.6 million low-paid workers getting their third consecutive pay rise.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

I hear the opposition saying 'no'. They say no to low-paid workers getting a pay rise because they say no to everything.

Now, compare that with those opposite, who have never once argued for a rise in the minimum wage. Of course, their deliberate design feature of their economic policy was low wages. It took the coalition their entire wasted decade in office to lift the minimum wage by as much as we have in our first term.

Opposition senators interjecting—

I know you hate to hear it, but when you turn up at the Fair Work Commission, and you advocate for people to have a pay rise, it turns out that that can happen. That's helping them with the cost-of-living pressures they're experiencing.

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

Senator Sheldon, second supplementary?

Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that the Liberals and Nationals have repeatedly voted against the Albanese Labor government's legislation to protect workers and get wages moving while promising to take targeted repeals of these protections to the next election, to take them away. What are the key barriers to getting wages moving and delivering meaningful cost-of-living relief to all Australians? And what do Australian workers stand to lose if Mr Dutton is able to make his repeals?

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

Let's compare the pair, shall we? Labor's laws have got wages moving again. They've increased bargaining. They've introduced the right to disconnect, rights for gig workers and new rights for casual workers. We're standing alongside Australians to deliver the better pay, more secure work and safe workplaces they deserve. Meanwhile, we've seen Mr Dutton, Mr Taylor, Senator Cash—sometimes Senator Birmingham, when he bothers—and other members of the coalition say that if they're elected to office they will scrap a whole range of these rights and more. They are on the record saying they will scrap the right to disconnect, they will scrap the rights for casuals and they will make more targeted repeals.

If you want to understand why, just look at some of the comments from Senator Hume while we've been away. On the day we introduced the right to disconnect, Senator Hume was in the media saying:

Adding more rights for workers for something that is just part of a normal working relationship is unreasonable.

Senator Hume and the coalition think that more rights for workers are unreasonable. Well, we don't. (Time expired)