Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support the motion on industrial relations that was moved by member for Werriwa. I will start by emphasising the importance of the issue raised in this motion, particularly wage growth, or the lack of it, and the gender pay gap.

These issues impact most Australians are issues that were neglected by and, in the view of many, were caused by the former government. In the Hunter people are going to work and, at the end of every week, are realising their pay buys them less than it did the week before, unfortunately. They aren't working less. Their jobs aren't any easier. Why is their pay buying them less and less? This isn't a new issue. It's just more serious now than ever before. This is a real issue that impacts real people.

I take great pride in being part of the only government in the last decade to care about workers and their wages. I'm honoured to speak here today about our government's plan to address the gender pay gap, but at the same time, I'm disappointed that the previous government sat back and did nothing for a decade. We should not be here fixing the mess left by those who came before us, but nonetheless here we are. We have got straight on with the job. We didn't waste any time in getting wages moving. In our first week, we made a submission to the annual wage review and argued wages of low-paid workers shouldn't be going backwards. As a result of this we had a 5.2 per cent increase to the national minimum wage and a 4.6 per cent increase for all other award wages. Because we are a government that prioritises people, we helped to raise the wages of up to 2.7 million employees, making their life just a little bit easier, making the burden of an increasing cost of living just a little bit less.

It is a fact that women play an equally important role in the workforce as men, so it makes sense the gender pay gap is addressed. It should not and cannot be ignored. On average, women earn $263.90 less than a man each week. There is no reason why this should be the case, and there is no reason why we can't fix it. That's why our government is taking steps to address this issue by making gender equity an object of the Fair Work Act and strengthening the Fair Work Commission's ability to order pay increases for workers in low-paid female-dominated industries.

It must be embarrassing for those opposite to know that our government has achieved more for workers, and specifically women, in the country in only six months than they did in nearly a decade. Yet, still, there will be some who rise today to tell us that the issues we're addressing are the fault of our government while at the same time overlooking and disregarding their decade of incompetence and warped priorities that led us to the current decisions.

The fact that they continue to stand in this place and have the audacity to tell us that the economic issues facing this country just popped in over the last six months shows how petty and politically minded they are. I would need a magnifying glass to find some logic in the arguments of those opposite, and I still doubt I would find any. All I would find is self-interest and blame shifting. They are here for political pointscoring, but our government is here for all Australians, making sure no-one is held back and no-one gets left behind.

I'm here standing up for the Hunter. I'm making sure that women in my electorate get the pay they deserve, equal to their male colleagues. I'm fighting to make sure that, when the lives of people in the Hunter become more expensive, their wages rise to help them afford the things they need to get by in life. Once again, I thank you, Member for Werriwa, for getting this going and your very good work.

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