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

The Albanese government recognises that the conflict in the Middle East is undoubtedly putting pressure on fuel prices, on inflation and on family budgets. Low-paid workers are more exposed to financial shocks and experience greater financial hardship, and we support lifting their wages as one of the ways to help them.

Today, the Albanese government will lodge a submission to the Annual Wage Review, recommending that the Fair Work Commission award an economically sustainable real wage increase to Australia's 2.7 million minimum wage and award-reliant workers, This, along with the tax cuts we provided last year and will again provide this year, is all about helping Australian workers earn more and keep more of what earn. We know that previous increases to the minimum wage were opposed by the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation—there's a bit of a theme here, that ragtag coalition. The chance for them is to say that Australian workers deserve an economically sustainable real wage increase.