Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the fabulous member for Deakin for his question. It was wonderful recently to visit with him essential workers in Eastland, where we got to hear about how important the government's policies are to them. Of course, the Albanese Labor government was elected on a commitment to get wages moving after a decade of deliberate wage suppression under those opposite. We have delivered significant changes to our workplace laws to deliver on our commitment to get wages moving. Our Secure Jobs, Better Pay changes have reinvigorated enterprise bargaining and put gender equality at the heart of our workplace laws.

Of course, these changes are seeing more workers than ever before be covered by enterprise agreements, delivering real wage increases. The gender pay gap is now at a record low of 11.5 per cent, and working women are earning on average an additional $250 a week. Our Closing Loopholes changes have stopped the underpayment of labour-hire workers, and many are earning thousands of dollars more. We've delivered on our commitment to make a submission to the Fair Work Commission for a real wage increase for almost three million workers who rely on minimum award wages. And we've made a submission every single year since we've been in government.

When this commitment was first made by our Prime Minister while in opposition, those opposite labelled it reckless. Well, this side of parliament does not view backing Aussie workers as reckless. Now, the lowest-paid workers on minimum wages are earning more than $175 per week on average more than when we came to government. Our government has also acted to protect award-reliant workers when they were faced with a real chance of losing their penalty rates.

This, of course, is in clear contrast to the coalition, who, when in government, stood by and did nothing to protect penalty rates when they were taken away in 2017. Our government is committed to getting wages moving. We have recorded the strongest annual real wages growth in five years, and real wages have been growing for seven consecutive quarters. Since coming to government, Aussie workers are benefiting from an average of an additional $9,000 per year in their pay packets.

This Labor government is delivering for working people. We're delivering to get wages moving and making sure Aussies are earning more.

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