Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to take note of the minister's statement. Isn't it interesting that, despite all the rhetoric we heard from the minister, on behalf of the minister for workplace relations, the bad news for Australians is: their wages are still going backwards. And despite all the political rhetoric we heard in relation to cost of living, Australians, when it comes to cost of living, are still struggling.

The Labor Party made a number of promises to the Australian people prior to the election. You'd actually think, based on the statement that was given by the minister—and even, I have to say, the taking-note that Senator Sheldon did in response—that everything was okay, that electricity prices weren't going up, that interest rates weren't going up, that inflation hadn't soared. In fact you'd almost believe that they were getting wages moving, as they promised the Australian people prior to the election. But, as we know, Labor are very good at spinning the narrative. Sometimes when you're spinning the narrative people forget to check behind what's really going on.

Let's have a look at what's really going on. We saw with the wage price index figures last month that the promises that Labor make—worse than that, the political rhetoric that has just been given in this chamber does not stack up not only to the promises that were made by the Albanese government prior to the election but also to the statement that's just been made in the Senate. This is the reality: Australians are seeing a real wage cut under the Albanese Labor government. Despite what they said before the election, that they would get wages moving, that they would make sure Australians were not going backwards—let's now talk about that in the cold light of day. Let's shine some sunlight on the reality that Australians are experiencing. Their wages are going backwards.

Here are the statistics. The level of wage growth in the economy is far below the level of inflation. Australians will tell you that. Guess what? Every time they walk into a supermarket they buy the exact same basket of goods as they did the previous week and the previous month, yet they know, when the person at the checkout says 'This is your bill', that their bill is getting higher. They also know that when they've received their energy bill, despite the promise prior to the election that their energy bill would be reduced by $275—forget about $275; their energy bills are now far in excess of what they used to be.

The level of wage growth in our economy, despite all the rhetoric, despite all the promises by those in the Albanese government, is now far below the level of inflation. Guess what? That's because of the policy decisions the Albanese government are making. They want everybody to see the headline: 'We will promise to get wages moving', 'We'll make sure Australians don't go backwards'. Yet what did the December quarter figures show?

They show the wage price index was 3.3 per cent and the CPI was 7.8 per cent. That is not getting wages moving. That is not ensuring that Australians don't go backwards.

Let's look at the reality versus the rhetoric. The December figures showed the largest real wage decline in a 12-month period on record. Despite the rhetoric and what you heard from those on the other side, under the previous coalition government we saw real wage increases. Why? Because of the decisions that we made. We backed in employers to prosper, to grow and to create more jobs for Australians. In doing that they could provide wage rises to Australians. Despite the rhetoric, Labor are failing. Based on their decisions, they'll continue to fail.