Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to talk about what the member for Riverina has just said because I am a Queenslander, and I'll tell you what we know about Queensland when it comes to working people. When it comes to working people, we know that the LNP has repeatedly tried to strip working people of their conditions. We know that the LNP has tried to systematically make sure that working people's access to critical services has been cut. We know that, when it comes to manufacturing, the LNP has a track record of taking manufacturing jobs offshore and making communities hurt because of it. That is the track record that we know when it comes to working people.

Today, I want to open by saying that the Albanese Labor government wants Australians to earn more and to keep more of what they earn. That is something that you hear in this chamber a lot. The reason it is a talking point is that it is something that is critical to making sure that our community is supported. I repeat it because of that. It's what drives this government. When we speak to core Labor values of economic justice, a just wage and a fair wage, that is what Labor stands for every day.

I want to take you back to the 2022 election campaign. During the 2022 election campaign, then opposition leader Anthony Albanese was asked a question. He was asked whether or not he would support an increase to the minimum wage, and he said, 'Absolutely.' What was so interesting about that question was that those opposite thought that that was a 'gotcha'. Those opposite thought, 'This must be a mistake.' Those opposite thought that the idea of increasing wages for some of the lowest paid people in our society and in our community could not possibly have been done by design and that it must have been an error, because it was so fanciful to them—the idea that someone would stand up for working people and stand up for the minimum wage to be increased. This is where the stark difference between us and those opposite comes into play. When it comes to a living wage, when it comes to driving fair wages and when it comes to helping and supporting some of the most vulnerable in our community, while they think that it is a mistake, we believe that working people should be supported in their jobs to have fair wages and dignity in work every single day.

In December 2022, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill received royal assent. The act put into place critical amendments that focused on workplace relations laws relating to bargaining, job security, gender equality, compliance, enforcement and workplace conditions, protections and relations institutions. One of the stipulations of the legislation was an independent statutory review of the changes. In mid-August, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations tabled that final report, the Secure jobs, better pay review. The final report said:

… the early signs are that collective bargaining is increasing, especially the coverage of collective agreements, and real wages (and other indicators of workers' economic circumstances) have started to improve.

Real wages are improving, and this is good news for hardworking Australians. It's been backed up by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which has released data that indicates that annual real wages have now grown for seven consecutive quarters under the Albanese Labor government. Real wages grew 1.3 per cent through the year to the June quarter 2025—the strongest annual real wages growth since June 2020.

The coalition said it couldn't be done. They said you couldn't increase wages without impacting other bits of the economy. And what have we seen, Deputy Speaker Scrymgour? We have seen inflation go from having a six in front of it, under the coalition, to having a two in front of it. What have we seen? We have seen unemployment stay low. On top of all that, we have seen support given in critical services, in important parts of the economy. Whether it's 20 per cent off student debt or it's 20 per cent cheaper for medicines, we have seen Australian workers support it. What is clear is that this government knows that real wages are not an impediment to a better future for Australians.

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