Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks, Senator Sheldon. It is good to get a question about industrial relations. We're waiting to get a question from the new shadow minister for industrial relations, but we'll keep asking about it in the meantime, because thousands of workers across the country have benefited from pay increases under the Albanese Labor government's landmark same-job same-pay laws, because someone shouldn't be paid less than their co-worker simply because they're employed as labour hire. It's estimated that more than 8,000 workers across mining, aviation, railway, meat processing, automotive, water treatment and many other industries have benefited so far from this Labor initiative. That includes hundreds of Qantas flight attendants who have secured pay rises of up to $20,000 a year to bring them into line with employees directly employed by the business, and, at three of BHP's Bowen Basin mines in Central Queensland, 1,800 mine workers will receive average pay rises of up to $30,000 per year due to Labor's same-job same-pay laws.

Of course, there's one Central Queenslander who isn't so keen on these workers getting a fair deal. Who could that be? I'll give you a hint: it's a man who feels happy dressing up like a coalminer but is even happier when he comes to Canberra and cuts the pay of coalminers. The new Nationals leader, Senator Canavan, has voted consistently against Labor's laws that would mean a better deal for workers, including in Central Queensland coalmines. He's for dressing up in high-vis, but he's against higher wages for coalminers, flight attendants, meat workers and more. Senator Canavan's record shows he's a massive risk to the pay and living standards of those he claims to represent, and I can tell you regional Queenslanders don't need a Canberra Zoolander who pats a bit of dirt on his face and struts around coalmines. They want secure jobs and better pay, and that's what they're getting under the Albanese Labor government.