Anthony Albanese has backed a 5.1 per cent hike in the minimum wage in order to keep up with rising inflation.
The comments come after a submission from the Australian Council of Trade Unions to the Fair Work Commission backing a rise in the minimum wage of 5.5 per cent.
Asked by reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday if he believed the rise should be in line with inflation at 5.1 per cent, he said: “Absolutely.”
“You should be able to pay your rent, to buy food, to get by, and the Fair Work Commission should bear that in mind in the decision that they make,” he said.
“Labor has a plan to lift wages and that is what we will do.”
The ACTU wants an increase in the minimum wage from $20.33 to $21.45 an hour, or $42,384.84 a year.
Mr Albanese said it was important wages did not go backwards.
“We have a government that have low wage growth as a key feature of their economic architecture. They’ve said that.”
Asked whether Mr Albanese could make wages rise, Scott Morrison told Sydney radio 2GB: “He can’t do that. He has just been pulling people’s legs.”
The prime minister said he supported the independent process and would “welcome and accept” any recommendations made by the Fair Work Commission.
Mr Albanese was flanked by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews in several key Melbourne seats as the pair made an announcement about an infrastructure project for the state.
During a visit to a worksite in Kooyong – held by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg – Mr Albanese joked he was the only political leader who would be seen in the electorate during the election campaign.
Mr Morrison has been accused of avoiding the seat for fear his unpopularity could affect the treasurer’s chances of re-election.
Meanwhile, Mr Andrews said Victoria had been ripped off by the Liberal-National federal government.
“Every federal dollar that Victorians get from the miserable Morrison government (we are made to feel like) … we ought to bow our head and treat it like it’s foreign aid,” he said.
Later at a coffee shop in the Deakin electorate – held by Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar on a 6.4 per cent margin – Labor candidate Matt Gregg told Mr Albanese the cost of child care was one of the key issues people were raising with him.
“One of the biggest things we hear from people is when little Gabrielle or little Johnny reached kindy they were better off,” Mr Albanese said.
“Sometimes all of a parent’s wages go towards child care and that structure … cuts back on productivity and workforce participation.”
Meanwhile former prime minister Julia Gillard has thrown her support behind the current Labor leader and said he was someone with the right values who could get things done.
“Making child care cheaper for more than a million families – which is what Anthony’s plan does – is good for children, good for women and their families, and great for our economy,” she said in an email to supporters.
