|
Just days after winning power, Treasurer Jim Chalmers told
reporters the Labor government would honour a pre-election
pledge to argue for a wage increase that would match the current
inflation rate of 5.1%.
The minimum wage will be decided by the independent Fair Work
Commission within the next few weeks, but the government can
make a recommendation on the size of the award.
There have been arguments a rise as big as 5% would only add
further to inflation, but Chalmers said the low paid deserved
it, many of whom continued to work right through the pandemic.
He also cited strains in the national energy market which had
seen the wholesale price for natural gas sky rocket in recent
months, feeding through to higher bills for consumers.
"This perfect storm of energy price spikes is doing enormous
damage to our employers, to our households and to our national
economy," Chalmers said.
He was talking after official data showed the Australian economy
grew a solid 0.8% in the March quarter and 3.3% on a year
earlier.
Chalmers said that while there were some bright spots in the
report, growth was much lower than forecast by the previous
Liberal National government while inflation was much higher.
This meant there were "troubling aspects" in the budget that he
would be outlining to parliament in a ministerial statement,
though he offered no guidance on timing.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
