QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:03): We on this side understand the pressure that Australians are under, which is why we are focused on delivering real cost-of-living relief and why we have advocated for increases in the national minimum wage, which has increased by more than $12,000 a year.

That is more than a 30 per cent increase. This is why we have delivered pay rises for early educators and workers in aged care. But there is more to do.

We know that there is more to do. Senator Cash: Real wages are falling. Senator WONG: I'll take the interjection from Senator Cash because one thing we know is that those opposite have never advocated for a wage increase.

What we know about those opposite is that they championed a system where lower wages were a deliberate design feature of the Australian economy. That is the Liberal way—'Let's deliberately try and keep wages low.' That is the way Senator Cash and her colleagues have championed. So I think Australians will understand what you are doing here, because you have never backed higher wages for working people.

(Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, second supplementary?