Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to support this motion because it speaks directly to what the people of Moore tell me every day: they want secure jobs, better pay and a fair go at work. Before I came into this place I was an industrial lawyer, representing workers who too often had the odds stacked against them. Before that I was an electrician, working on the tools on job sites, experiencing firsthand the difference between a fair employer and the ones who tried to cut corners. So, when I talk about wages, job security and fairness at work, this is not theory to me; it's lived experience. That's why I know how important it is that the Albanese government has put working people back at the centre of our industrial relations system, because the secure jobs, better pay reforms are delivering on exactly what we promised.

The independent interim review confirmed that they are, on the whole, achieving the government's intent. Collective agreement coverage has grown 27 per cent since September 2022. That means more workers are now covered by agreements that deliver high wages and better conditions—the highest coverage since enterprise bargaining began in 1991. That's not just a statistic; it's proof that workers and businesses are once again finding common ground. When workers have bargaining power, wages go up, conditions improve and families benefit. Since these reforms, real wages have grown every quarter. After a decade of wages being deliberately kept low under the coalition, we have finally turned the tide. The ABS confirms this: seven consecutive quarters of real wages growth, the strongest in five years and the longest sustained run in more than a decade. For women in particular, the progress is clear. Early trends in the gender pay gap show positive outcomes, with that gap now at an equal historic low of 11.5 per cent. That means more women, in Moore and across the country, are finally getting closer to the pay they deserve.

Those opposite don't want to hear this; they are desperate to discredit these reforms because they want to axe them. Senator Cash went so far as to call them the most radical laws she has ever seen. But what's radical about Australians getting their fair share of the wealth they create? What's so radical about more workers being on agreements than at any time since the early nineties? What's so radical about wages outpacing inflation and the gender gap narrowing? The truth is there is nothing radical about fairness. It is the coalition who were radical when they sat back and watched a decade of low wages growth while cost-of-living pressures mounted for working families.

I know that families in Beldon, Craigie and Karrinyup are still feeling those pressures at the checkout, at the petrol bowser and with their mortgage repayments. People in my electorate are doing it tough. That is why it matters so much that wages are moving again. Since coming to government, Labor has fought to increase the minimum wage, delivering four consecutive raises for 2.9 million workers. In just three years, the national minimum wage has gone up by $4.62 per hour. That's more than $175 a week—over $9,000 a year—or a 22.7 per cent increase, making a real difference to families who are struggling to keep up.

We have made sure that the benefits are not just for some but for all. In aged care and early childhood education, we have delivered funded pay rises for workers who were underpaid for far too long. These are life-changing increases for essential workers who hold our communities together. We have also closed loopholes that allow labour-hire workers to be paid less than permanent employees doing the same job. That is something I experienced myself while on the tools, and I understand how unfair it was. We have criminalised wage theft because taking money out of a worker's pocket is not a dispute; it is theft. And we've introduce the right to disconnect so workers can properly clock off and spend time with their families without the boss calling them at all hours.

These reforms are built on a simple principle: Australians should earn more and keep more of what they earn. That is the goal we are delivering on, and we are doing it while growing the economy. Since Labor came to office, we have created more than 1.1 million new jobs. Unemployment remains low, workforce participation remains high and wages are moving in the right direction. This is what Labor government delivers: secure jobs, better pay and fairer workplaces. I am proud to be part of a government that is putting working people first. I commend the motion to the House.

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