❓ Radisich questions Howard's record on minimum wage, Kobelke responds, criticising Howard's wage policies and claiming workers would be significantly worse off if Howard's recommendations were followed.
AnsweredQoN 609Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, has refused to guarantee that working Australians will not be worse off under his industrial relations reforms. He said - My guarantee is my record. Look at my record. I am sure he said that with his hand on his heart. What is the Prime Minister’s record on looking after Australians working for minimum wages? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Some years ago the Prime Minister was willing to give a guarantee that his industrial relations changes would not leave any Australian worker worse off. That question has been asked of him many times in the past few days and he has refused to give any guarantee that Western Australian workers and workers across Australia will not be left in a far worse position as a result of his changes. In responding to that, he used the words quoted by the member for Swan Hills - My guarantee is my record. Look at my record. It is worth looking at his record. Let us look at the last five national wage cases. Over that five-year period, the consumer price index has increased cumulatively by 17.8 per cent. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for the question. Some years ago the Prime Minister was willing to give a guarantee that his industrial relations changes would not leave any Australian worker worse off. That question has been asked of him many times in the past few days and he has refused to give any guarantee that Western Australian workers and workers across Australia will not be left in a far worse position as a result of his changes. In responding to that, he used the words quoted by the member for Swan Hills - My guarantee is my record. Look at my record. It is worth looking at his record. Let us look at the last five national wage cases. Over that five-year period, the consumer price index has increased cumulatively by 17.8 per cent. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
I thank the member for the question. Some years ago the Prime Minister was willing to give a guarantee that his industrial relations changes would not leave any Australian worker worse off. That question has been asked of him many times in the past few days and he has refused to give any guarantee that Western Australian workers and workers across Australia will not be left in a far worse position as a result of his changes. In responding to that, he used the words quoted by the member for Swan Hills - My guarantee is my record. Look at my record. It is worth looking at his record. Let us look at the last five national wage cases. Over that five-year period, the consumer price index has increased cumulatively by 17.8 per cent. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for the question. Some years ago the Prime Minister was willing to give a guarantee that his industrial relations changes would not leave any Australian worker worse off. That question has been asked of him many times in the past few days and he has refused to give any guarantee that Western Australian workers and workers across Australia will not be left in a far worse position as a result of his changes. In responding to that, he used the words quoted by the member for Swan Hills - My guarantee is my record. Look at my record. It is worth looking at his record. Let us look at the last five national wage cases. Over that five-year period, the consumer price index has increased cumulatively by 17.8 per cent. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
I thank the member for the question. Some years ago the Prime Minister was willing to give a guarantee that his industrial relations changes would not leave any Australian worker worse off. That question has been asked of him many times in the past few days and he has refused to give any guarantee that Western Australian workers and workers across Australia will not be left in a far worse position as a result of his changes. In responding to that, he used the words quoted by the member for Swan Hills - My guarantee is my record. Look at my record. It is worth looking at his record. Let us look at the last five national wage cases. Over that five-year period, the consumer price index has increased cumulatively by 17.8 per cent. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
The SPEAKER : I call to order the members for Vasse, Roe and Murray. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : If workers on the national minimum wage had received the pay increases that the Howard government said they should get, they would have received a cumulative increase of 13.2 per cent; that is, over the past five years, workers would have been 4.6 percentage points worse off when compared with the consumer price index. For the past five years the Howard government’s submission to the national wage case argued that the minimum wage should actually drop in real terms and that it should not even keep up with the inflation rate. That is the record of the Prime Minister. Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr T.R. Buswell interjected. The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
The SPEAKER : I call to order the member for Vasse for the second time. Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE : The Prime Minister did not want wages to keep up with inflation. That would have put more pressure on workers and their families to survive, pay the bills and keep food on the table. The record of the Prime Minister is to not try to advance wages in any way at all. Fortunately, workers on the minimum wage had the union movement to represent them, and it applied for a decent wage increase. The difference between what workers have won as a result of the ACTU’s submissions to the national wage case during the time of the Howard government and what they would have been given if they had got what Mr Howard said they should get amounts to $50 a week. Workers on the minimum wage would now be $2 600 a year worse off if the Prime Minister had been looking after them his way. That is his record. It is a shameful record, and the people of Australia need to know that if they want the Prime Minister to continue with his shameful record, they will certainly be a lot worse off.
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