QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Ms RISHWORTH (Kingston—Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) (14:34): I'd like to thank the member for Melbourne for her question but also for her absolute day-to-day commitment to seeing working Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. It's this Labor government that is committed to delivering real change for working Australians, and this includes our commitment to getting wages moving for working Australians.

One of the ways we're achieving this is by advocating year on year for wage increases for minimum award wages. I'm really pleased to inform the House that, from this Wednesday, award-wage workers will see a 4.75 per cent increase and the minimum wage workers will receive a six per cent wage increase. This means that, for the first time, the average weekly national minimum wage is more than $1,000 a week.

These pay increases represent a real wage rise for nearly three million Australian workers and mean that, from Wednesday, award-reliant workers like Monica, a community support worker from Victoria, will receive more cost-of-living help. Monica says that this pay rise is incredibly important, because her industry is low paid and made largely of women workers who, as she describes it, 'work hard, slog hard and attend shifts because we are committed to our work.' And of course this increase will also help workers like Noah.

Noah is a school cleaner who has welcomed the pay rise, saying that this is a great thing and that he now is 'able to save for a car I need to get further.' Our government believes workers like Monica and Noah deserve a pay rise, and we are backing them to get one. Not only will workers receive a pay rise from Wednesday, but, of course, 14 million Australians will get another tax cut from this government—a tax cut of up to $268.

Of course, workers will also benefit from this Labor government's payday super laws, coming into effect also on Wednesday. Of course, these laws build on our existing reforms, which have made superannuation a workplace right in the Fair Work Act, and, of course, the increased compulsory contributions. Our payday super changes will ensure that super is paid earlier and more regularly into super accounts, giving people more oversight and a bigger balance at retirement.

Whether it is getting wages moving again, whether it's more super into workers' accounts or whether it's tax cuts, it is only the Albanese Labor government that is delivering real change for Australian workers.