Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) Australia's unemployment rate sits at the lowest level since 1974 at 3.4 per cent;

(b) large sectors of the economy are facing jobs and skills shortages due to the tight labour market;

(c) the record low unemployment rate is not translating to significant and strong wages growth in line with inflation and real wages have declined as a consequence; and

(d) the gender pay gap has remained high and has increased in the past 6 months to 14.1 per cent;

(2) acknowledges that:

(a) the gender pay gap is a major concern socially and economically;

(b) the Government's Jobs and Skills Summit worked collaboratively with all stakeholders—unions, business, and advocacy groups to find solutions to skill shortages and close the gender pay gap;

(c) the Jobs and Skills Summit has identified 36 initiatives that can be taken immediately to alleviate skills shortages;

(d) areas of reform in the industrial relations system have been identified to spur wages growth for workers; and

(e) the sectors that will benefit the most from industrial relations reform are undervalued areas such as childcare, aged care and disability support, which are female-dominated sectors and are less likely to collectively bargain;

(3) supports further consultation with all groups to solve Australia's economic issues and to set Australia up for further decades of economic and social growth; and

(4) expresses concern over the increase in the gender pay gap and the decline of real wages and supports any efforts to alleviate these issues.

Australians are currently facing a cost-of-living crisis and have had to face the highest levels of inflation in more than 30 years whilst also suffering from a decade of wage stagnation. The inflation crisis we are experiencing has wiped any wage growth in the last eight years. Australians are now grappling with the consequences of real wages going backwards. One in four Australians is struggling to get by, according to a recent ANU survey. Workers are enduring a cut in pay, despite the same survey noting that the average for hours worked has increased over that time. Real wages are now back to where they were in 2012.

Despite the fact that unemployment has been consistently low and has not been seen at these levels since 1974, Australians are not reaping the benefits. It has not translated into wages growth, which points to an industrial relations system that has been undermined and is no longer working. Of course, this is due in part to a previous government's strategy of low wages growth as a feature of its economic policy. At every corner, Australian workers have seen their conditions degrade, with working environments becoming less safe, job security disappearing and inadequate pay for their labour. Nothing has highlighted this more than the pandemic. We saw essential workers thanked yet not paid fairly. We saw unfair dismissal of thousands of workers, and we saw that many workers could not take a single day off without serious financial consequences. This is just not good enough.

Our government convened the Jobs and Skills Summit, bringing together industry, unions and stakeholders to identify areas of reform and improve how the economy works for all Australians. The summit agreed that getting the economy working for female participation was a must. Women tend to be undervalued and underpaid, yet they work in some of the most important areas of our economy, from child care to aged care. Ensuring that these predominantly female workers can fight for better pay and conditions is a key element of the Albanese government's economic agenda. A key proposal raised at the Jobs and Skills Summit was to extend paid parental leave. Labor introduced paid parental leave, and it was Labor that strengthened it in its recent budget. This will boost women's participation and encourage more dads to take parental leave.

The government has also supported a raise to the minimum wage in line with inflation because that increase would directly impact the sectors where workers have been most affected by low wage growth. Additionally, we're committed to funding the outcomes of the aged-care workers case that was before the Fair Work Commission, which recently announced an interim decision to lift the minimum wage of aged-care workers by 15 per cent. The Albanese government will also be reducing the cost of child care for over 1.2 million Australian families because we know that a significant barrier for women going back into the workforce or picking up extra shifts is the cost of child care.

The economy is suffering a skills shortage that needs to be addressed in many ways. Offering women the option to work extra hours—that work for them and their family—is just one way of tackling this problem. The government also acknowledges that training Australians is crucial to alleviating these skills shortage. The $1 billion national skills agreement with the states and territories is also important. It will provide 180,000 fee-free TAFE and vocational education places in 2023.

The absence of planning and the lack of coordinated response to the skills and labour shortage over the last 10 years has contributed to the current crisis. According to the National Skills Commission priority list, shortages have nearly doubled in the past year from 156 to 286 occupations. The budget also supports the TAFE Technology Fund in building a clean energy workforce and supports Jobs and Skills Australia.

It is time to get wages moving again and to get Australians trained for the jobs of the future. It's time for the industrial relations systems to change, and for the lowest-paid workers and female dominated sectors to be at the heart of the reforms. That's what the Albanese government seeks to do in order to improve the situation for all Australians. All Australians will benefit when all sectors and all workers have extra wages to spend in our economy.

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