Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. The Albanese Labor government is strengthening the economy and delivering cost-of-living relief for all Australians. We have delivered tax cuts, energy bill relief, urgent care clinics, cheaper medicines and university debt relief, whilst the Liberals and Nationals have rejected every cost-of-living measure we have put forward. What have the minister and the Treasurer done to provide responsible cost-of-living relief that does not add to the inflation challenge in the economy?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Walsh for that question and for the focus on cost-of-living measures that the government has been putting in place over the last 2½ years. This is the government that has been working hard to get wages up and inflation down. We're strengthening Medicare and building more houses, and we can make reforms such as these because we're focused on building a stronger economy. Back-to-back surpluses and lower government debt are important indicators that we are on the right track. We're focused on reducing inflation—it's halved since we came to government—with cost-of-living policies, such as energy-bill relief, driving inflation down. We're focused on job creation, with one million jobs created in this term of parliament alone, more than any other term of parliament.

Not only do we want more people in jobs but we want them to earn a decent wage. There's certainly more to do, but wages are heading in the right direction with four quarters of wages growth after years of coalition wage stagnation. We've advocated for wages growth at every opportunity, and we've prioritised pay rises for aged-care workers and early childhood educators who had been underpaid and undervalued for way too long. We want people to earn more and keep more of what they earn, as this is the best form of cost-of-living relief. We have record levels of people working. We have record levels of women working, and the pay gap is as narrow as it's ever been. Manufacturing jobs are up. Industrial disputes are down, and the number of small businesses is up. We know there is more work to do, and we know that life is tough for many Australians right now.

That's why the Albanese Labor government has been focused on how to make appropriate investments in areas like Medicare, cheaper medicines and urgent care clinics to make sure that people are getting access to the services they need right now.

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

Senator Walsh, first supplementary?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. Central to our economic plan has been the Albanese Labor government's determination to get wages increasing. We've seen some good progress already, but, after a decade of wage stagnation, there is more to do. Why is it so important to get wages moving again?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We on this side of the chamber, the Australian Labor Party, always care about the workers, the conditions they work under and the wages they work under. And those opposite—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We can hear them start squealing now—squirming and squealing—because of their policy, which was: how do we stop working people from getting proper wages? That was their economic policy. That is in stark contrast to our economic policy, which is that good, secure jobs with good wage growth matter to the economy, and it matters to working people. So, for aged care workers, what happened in the previous decade? Nothing. We didn't see a role for government to support wages growth of a highly feminised, underpaid part of the economy. That's why this government has prioritised leaning in, arguing for wage increases for the minimum wage workers and for those essential workers in our economy.

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

Senator Walsh, second supplementary?

Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. As the Albanese Labor government continues to focus on helping with cost-of-living pressures, the Liberals and Nationals recklessly vote against cost-of-living relief at every opportunity. What challenges has the government faced in delivering cost-of-living relief for all Australians?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hear that they don't like the word 'reckless', but their voting record in this chamber has been reckless. It paints a picture of what would happen were they to be on this side of the chamber again. We know the risk involved. They've been reckless. Remember, they wanted to go to an election over the tax cuts for every taxpayer in the country. That was so terrible they wanted to call an election. They've argued against higher minimum wages. They've argued against the IR reforms. They've argued against pay rises for aged care workers. And cheaper medicines—who would have thought you could actually argue against cheaper medicines? But this group found a way to do it. There are urgent care clinics and 24-hour nurses in aged care. There's the tripling of the bulk-billing incentive. There's the energy price relief plan. You're coming in here complaining about energy prices but then voting against energy bill relief. Of course, they voted on everything to do with housing and fee-free TAFE, if you can believe that. (Time expired)