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

I'd like to thank the member for Moore for that question and, of course, for his decades of passionate advocacy for working people in this country. The Albanese Labor government was elected on a promise of getting wages moving, and that is exactly what we are delivering. Only Labor is committed to increasing the pay packets of working Australians. The Albanese Labor government has delivered significant changes to achieve this. We have reinvigorated enterprise bargaining, with a record number of employees now covered by enterprise agreements, which continue to be a key source of wage growth in this country. Unlike those opposite, we have proudly advocated to the Fair Work Commission for a minimum award wage increase each and every year we have been in government, supporting almost three million low-paid workers.

Our government took action to protect penalty rates and overtime, making sure that the pay of those who work on weekends or unsociable hours does not go backwards. We introduced same job, same pay laws, and now thousands of workers are benefiting from pay increases across mining, aviation, warehousing, railways and meat processing. Our government has backed and funded wage increases for early educators and aged-care workers, who are now thousands of dollars better off because this government recognised the essential work that they do. We put the framework in place to allow gig workers to be fairly paid. They have been underpaid for too long.

Only this Labor government is delivering higher wages for working Australians. We know there are risks. The biggest risk is those opposite—the Liberal and National parties. The Liberal and National parties proudly boasted, when they were in government, that a key part of their economic architecture was putting downward pressure on wages. More recently, the Leader of the Opposition, when asked if she would repeal our important reforms that have delivered wage increases and job security, said she would look at it all. Does this mean that the Leader of the Opposition would remove the same job, same pay changes, leaving workers worse off? Would she remove minimum standards for gig workers, leaving them worse off? Would she scrap protections for penalty rates? Would she scrap pay rises for our essential aged-care workers and early childhood educators? We know that those opposite fought, tooth and nail, every single one of these reforms. But while they fight amongst themselves, we're getting on with the job of delivering to Australian workers and making sure we're getting wages moving again.

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