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

I would love nothing more than to outline how this year's federal budget will deliver better outcomes for Australian workers. That's because our government's No. 1 focus is supporting Australian working families who are struggling with cost-of-living pressures, and a key part of that is helping them earn more and keep more of what they earn. This budget will put more money into the pockets of 13.3 million workers, with a new $250 working Australians tax offset. This offset is targeted to workers and represents the most meaningful permanent increase to the effective tax-free threshold since Labor last increased it more than a decade ago. Altogether, our five different tax cuts will benefit the average Australian worker by up to $2,816 in 2028, evening out taxation for those who earn income from work and those who earn it from owning assets.

To help workers earn more, we've announced we will again advocate to the Fair Work Commission for an economically sustainable real wage increase for our lowest-paid workers on minimum award wages. This will help almost 2.7 million workers across the country, including cleaners, retail workers, security guards and hospitality workers, many of whom rely on minimum award wages. These workers are more likely to be women, employed on a casual basis, working part-time and younger—and I know Senator Hume doesn't support working people on minimum wages.

Our government's submission to the Fair Work Commission advocating for a real wage increase is about supporting working people in Australia. This Labor government has advocated for a wage increase for minimum award wage earners each and every year we've been in government. Since coming into government, the minimum wage has increased by more than $9,000 per year. We have legislated to protect penalty and overtime rates for these same workers because it's an important part of their pay packet—something that was opposed by the Liberal-National-One Nation coalition. (Time expired)