Labor Is ‘Chasing Some Artificial Number’ When Pushing for Wage Rise: Employment Minister

Minister for Employment Stuart Robert during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 1, 2021. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Employment Minister Stuart Robert has refused to say whether he thinks minimum wage should increase in line with inflation, as he criticised Labor for “chasing some artificial number.”

It comes as new polling by RedBridge for the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) reveals almost 80 percent of people would be more likely to vote for a party committed to stopping wages from falling behind the cost of living.

While Prime Minister Scott Morrison argued that “managing money well” and tackling unemployment would put downward pressure on inflation, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese pushed for a 5.1 percent pay rise for the two percent of workers whose minimum wage is $20.33 an hour.

However, on Thursday Robert warned that the pay rise could drive up the inflation rate.

“We won’t start an inflation spiral like Mr Albanese is seeking to do it by chasing some artificial number,” the Liberal MP told ABC’s RN Breakfast.

“We‘ll let the independent bodies like the Reserve Bank do their job, the Fair Work Commission do their job, and at the same time, we’ll use our fiscal measures through the budget and our tax settings to provide that cushioning and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“The economy is run by disciplined operators, and that’s why we’re the best government to continue to lead us forwards. Because we are disciplined.”

Robert, while refusing to state his position on a 5.1 pay rise, noted that wages have been growing faster than inflation in seven of the last eight years and that Australia’s inflation is lower than comparable countries around the world.

“We’ve managed the economy sensibly and soundly,” Robert added, pointing to the Coalition’s tax cuts and cost-of-living package.

“I’m not going to do what Mr Albanese does, and pluck out smiling emojis and loose comments to appease what is an interesting question by a journalist.”

A 5.1 percent rise in minimum wage could increase inflation by more than two percentage points over the next 12 months, lifting it to 7.36 percent, according to a new report by The Institute of Public Affairs.  

The IPA report also noted that the pay rise could drive mortgage interest rates up by 57 basis points and increase the small business rate by 0.82 percent.

Albanese stood by his proposal, however, as he attacked the Coalition’s cost of living measures as “temporary.”

“The cost of living measures that [Morrison] spoke about are all temporary, they have all the sincerity of a fake tan, they disappear once people have cast their vote and people are then back on their own again.”

The opposition leader also pushed to make gender pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act and the Fair Work Commission, as well as promised to deliver cheaper childcare and cheaper medicines.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday defended his government’s approach to getting wages to rise.

“You get unemployment down and you ensure that businesses can invest for growth so they can pay their workers higher wages,” he told Sydney reporters.

“He (Albanese) didn’t seem to understand that the minimum wage applies to about two percent of Australians in the workforce. But there’s another 23 percent of the workforce that are actually tied to that minimum wage.”

“So the Labor party talk a big game on this but, when it comes to the actual record, it’s not matched. I’m for higher wages by ensuring that we get unemployment down and we’re supporting businesses as we come out of this pandemic being able to invest and grow so they can support their workers with higher wages.”