Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke suggested the government will again push for an increase to the minimum wage in line with the high rate of inflation.
Burke told ABC radio’sRN Breakfaston Tuesday Labor’s values had not changed since its previous submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual wage review in June last year.
Tony Burke said the government’s wage submission will be revealed by the end of the week.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Asked whether he would back another minimum wage increase to keep up with inflation,Burke said,“our values haven’t changed,and what you’ve referred to there is a pretty strong value statement from the prime minister”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a press conference on Wednesday the government would act in a way that was “absolutely consistent with our values”.
The Fair Work Commission will rule on the minimum wage at the end of June.
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Andrew McKellar,chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,warned a wage increased that matched inflation “risks inflicting more pain on our increasingly fragile economy”.
“While Australia appears to have turned a corner on inflation,it still remains stubbornly high. Pushing for unsustainable wage increases while the economic outlook remains precarious jeopardises the viability of small businesses and the jobs they sustain and create,” he said.
Matthew Addison,chair of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia,said a 6.8 per cent increase to the minimum wage would be the “final straw for many small businesses”.
“They will have no option but to put their prices up,so we’re in this ongoing cycle of inflation being embedded into our system,” Addison said.
A key financial pressure on Australians has beenthe steep increase in interest rates from the Reserve Bank as it attempts to bring inflation under control.
Anthony Albanese said the government would stick to its values on the minimum wage.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the inflation rate falling to 6.8 per cent in February from a peak of 8.4 per cent in December,although prices in some sensitive sectors continue to rise.
The annual increase in electricity prices hit 17.2 per cent last month,up from 16.8 per cent in January. In February last year,electricity prices were climbing at an annual rate of 3.3 per cent.
Markets now expect official interest rates to be held at 3.6 per cent when the RBA meets next Tuesday,with some hope of cuts from the middle of the year.
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The bank has lifted the cash rate at its past 10 consecutive meetings.
HSBC Australia chief economist and former RBA official,Paul Bloxham,said there was now a good chance the bank would hold official interest rates steady well into next year.
“We now have more evidence that inflation has indeed past its peak,economic activity is slowing,and the unemployment rate is past its trough,” he said. “Beyond April,we expect the RBA to keep the cash rate at 3.6 per cent for a number of quarters.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said while inflation was still elevated,it was positive that it had fallen for a second consecutive month.
“This is more evidence that inflation is moderating in our economy,but remains unacceptably high. It’s more evidence that inflation peaked at the end of last year and is moderating this year but it will be higher than we’d like,for longer than we’d like,” he said.
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