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

Thanks, Senator Smith, who, again, is one of the very active members on this side of the chamber who've put a lot of work into wage rises for Australians over the years. In good news for Australians and particularly good news for Senator Hume as the shadow spokesperson, new data released by the ABS today shows real wages grew in the June quarter and annual nominal wages have now grown above three per cent for all four years under this Labor government. Senator Hume, I look forward to your press release welcoming the fact that Australian wages are increasing.

Real wages were up this quarter, but we acknowledge they were down through the year—not because wages have been too low but because inflation is still too high, something that the government is playing its role to drive down. The ongoing wage increases for Australian workers is a direct result of the Albanese Labor government's workplace laws, which were consistently opposed by the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation.

Let's recognise how much pressure many Australian families are under right now due to the global inflation shock that they are dealing with. Can you imagine how much harder life would be for those Australian families if we still had a government in Australia that wanted to see wages remain low and dedicated its entire economic policy apparatus to keeping wages low? That's the situation that Australian workers and their families would have been in.

We're helping to deliver higher wages for workers because we know this is one of the best ways to help with the cost of living. We're helping to boost wages for workers, giving every taxpayer a tax cut, and strengthening super at the same time as we're helping to address inflation. If you want an indication about where the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation stand on these issues, just think about the fact that Senator Hume famously claimed that wage increases 'would be the worst thing for Australians'.