QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms RISHWORTH (Kingston—Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) (14:06): I'd like to thank the member for Holt for that question but also for her lifetime advocacy in standing up for low-paid workers. I'm really pleased to inform the House today that the Fair Work Commission has awarded a 4.75 per cent wage increase for the 2.7 million modern-award-reliant workers in this country.

This represents a real wage increase, supporting workers with cost of living. Many of these workers are low paid. They are predominantly women and work casually and in industries like retail, health care, accommodation and food services.

It's been this government that's advocated for these workers, to the commission, for an economically sustainable real wage increase. We welcome the commission's decision as a win for working Australians. Of course, in addition to the 4.75 per cent increase for our award-reliant workers, the commission has determined to lift the floor for our lowest paid workers, who rely on the national minimum wage, by delivering the lowest classifications a six per cent wage increase.

This decision means that our lowest paid workers, who rely on the national minimum wage, will now earn over $1,000 a week. Since this Labor government came into office, the national minimum wage has increased by more than $12,000 per year. This translates to a 12 per cent real wage increase for Australia's lowest paid workers since we came to government.

Today's wage increase will deliver meaningful help with cost of living for Australia's lowest paid workers. And while this government backs pay rises for low-paid workers, those opposite have refused to do so. Shadow minister after shadow minister was out this morning doing the media rounds.

They were asked time and time again if they would deliver or support or back a real wage increase, and none of them had the guts to just say 'yes'. This shouldn't be surprising, though; not once when they were in government did the coalition advocate for a real wage increase for Australian workers. For a decade, those opposite admitted it was a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture—to keep wages down.

Of course, this side of the House supports wage increases. We also support tax cuts for Australians. It's only the Labor Party that's on the side of working Australians.