Press conference, Canberra

EO&E TRANSCRIPT

SUBJECTS: More jobs created under the Albanese Government; Net overseas migration; Chris Ellison; CFMEU. 
 
MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: Thanks everyone for coming along today, and I'm very pleased to be able to advise that the latest ABS data that's come out today indicates that we have created another 47,500 new jobs in Australia just in the last month alone.
 
What that means is that since the Albanese Government was elected just over two years ago, we've created just short of 1 million new jobs in the Australian economy, and of course, that's terrific news not just for our wider economy, but most importantly, it's terrific news for workers like those gathered behind me today.
 
Gathered behind me today we've got a mixture of people from different industries; the retail sector, hospitality, cleaners, casino workers, real people who are getting real jobs in the Australian economy right now as a result of the Albanese Government's policies.
 
We saw that the unemployment rate has stayed steady at 4.2 per cent, and we continue to see record highs of participation demonstrating that more and more Australians are seeking work right now, which is terrific to see.
 
I think everyone understands that right now the Australian economy is quite soft, but the fact that we've been able to keep growing the number of jobs in our economy demonstrates the resilience of our labour market and it's obviously a great thing that Australians are able to keep finding work at this moment in time.
 
You may have seen yesterday when I spoke at the National Press Club that I mentioned that one of the most important things that governments can do to assist Australians with cost‑of‑living pressures right now is to help Australians find work and make sure that they are earning more in that work, and that's exactly what the Albanese Government's policies are delivering.
 
We know that there are many Australians doing it tough right now, and there are real cost‑of‑living pressures that Australians are facing. So, one of the best things that governments can do is create jobs, keep people in work, and also make sure that they are earning more. And as I say, that's what's happening under the Albanese Government's policies. 
 
And that stands in stark contrast to what we see from Peter Dutton and the Coalition, who are already on the record saying that if they are elected at the next election, they will cut a range of workplace rights that have been provided by the Albanese Government.
 
It's hard to think of a worse time that we could talking about cutting people's wages and conditions than right now when Australians are struggling with cost‑of‑living pressures, but that's exactly what Peter Dutton and the Coalition are talking about doing.
 
The Albanese Government has got a different approach. What we're about is helping Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn.
 
I'm happy to take any questions.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister, economists generally agree that higher unemployment ‑ sorry, lower unemployment means longer inflation ‑ fight against inflation. Is that preferable in your eyes compared to quicker fall of inflation, but higher unemployment?
 
MURRAY WATT: Obviously for some time now, our economic policies have been directed at bringing down inflation without tanking the economy. It is a fine balance that we're running now, and the Treasurer, more than anyone else in our government is recognising that fine balance to make sure that the policies work in that way.
 
It's very pleasing to see inflation halved since we came to office at a time while we've been able to bring the unemployment rate down and keep it reasonably steady as it grows just that little bit slightly.
 
So we want to make sure that we do keep Australians in work, but of course the fight against inflation goes on.
 
JOURNALIST: Can I ask about the net migration figures that are out today. The government's almost at its target for the last financial year with a whole quarter to go. Why are you using the target? I know that the Government wants to bring migration down, uni caps don't kick in until next year. Do you concede that this is going to be a big miss of that target?
 
MURRAY WATT: What we saw with the net overseas migration figures today is that they have come down again since the figures that we saw in December late last year by several hundred thousand.
 
Now we've been very clear that we recognise that we need to make sure that the numbers of migrants that we have coming to Australia is sustainable, and that's exactly why we've taken a range of actions to bring that number down. We're starting to see the results of that.
 
The numbers that came out today are actually from March, they're a little bit lagging, and of course a number of the measures that we've taken took effect after March, so I would expect that we'd see that number fall further.
 
So, as I say we recognise that we do need to get that migration number down to sustainable levels, and it is pleasing to see some of our measures starting to work.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister, you've created 1 million jobs, but many people are working two or three jobs just to stay afloat. Is that a sign that the economy's not really working for many Australians?
 
MURRAY WATT: Oh, look, it's undoubtedly the case that there are many Australians who are working multiple jobs, and it's always been that way with people working part‑time or casual jobs, but I think one of the important things to see in today's figures is that since we've come to office, over 60 per cent of the new jobs that have been created are full‑time jobs, as well as seeing rates of casualisation in the economy starting to fall as well.
 
So, I'm not going to criticise people who seek to take multiple jobs to pay their bills, but as I say, it is really pleasing to see such a high proportion remain as full‑time jobs as well.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister, mining billionaire Chris Ellison, has given an interview with our paper today, and he's offered some advice to the Federal Government about some of its policies. He said, and I quote, "I think Anthony Albanese gets WA, he's been here 23 times, but in terms of IR environmental land access, I don't think they get it. I think having another layer of Federal politics is just not needed, not required. I mean let the Cook Government manage WA". What's your response to that?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, I'm not sure that Western Australians would really agree with the idea that the Federal Government shouldn't have any input into WA. For example, Western Australians justifiably benefit from GST receipts which are taken and are distributed by the Federal Government.
 
So, I would argue that the Federal Government has a pretty positive impact on the Western Australian economy through the range of investments that we make.
 
Again, I made comments yesterday about the results of our employment and industrial relations policies, and there's no evidence whatsoever that they are hurting the economy in the way that some people claim that they are.
 
We're seeing jobs go up, we're seeing wages go up, we're seeing productivity finally start turning around in a positive direction after tanking under the Coalition, we're seeing industrial action actually fall far below what we saw from the Coalition.
 
So, I think there's plenty of evidence to demonstrate that our industrial relations policies are actually working for workers and for business, and that's a positive thing.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister, last week Sarah Hunter, the Reserve Bank's Chief Economist, said that the jobs market was running too high, which would exacerbate inflation. Do you agree with that assessment?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, you're never going to get me saying that I want to see Australians lose their job. We want to see more Australians get jobs, and we want to see more Australians remain in jobs, because as I say, it's such an important way of making sure that people are able to deal with cost‑of‑living pressures.
 
And I would point to the fact that we have been able to bring down inflation substantially from where it was when we came to office while at the same time keeping unemployment historically low. So, we think that we can do both, and it's so important to make sure that Australians have got jobs.
 
JOURNALIST: But it's a double‑edged sword, isn't it, in terms of interest rates and today's figures will make next week's RBA decision ‑ you know, it doesn't seem like we're going to get a rate cut this year. What is your message to mortgage holders who are struggling?
 
MURRAY WATT: Yeah. As I say, I understand that many Australians are doing it tough at the moment, and one of the reasons for that is the higher interest rates that people are paying on their mortgage. I've noticed it impact on my mortgage, and I'm sure plenty of the people behind me have seen it impact on their mortgages as well.
 
What we're about doing is putting in place the economic conditions to make sure that we can bring inflation down without sending the economy into recession and without driving unemployment up substantially.
 
So far it would appear that those policies are working to that effect, and that's the way we want to keep it.
 
JOURNALIST: Yesterday the ETU Victoria threatened that the Victorian construction industry could be shut down for 72 hours from next Wednesday unless pay deals struck before the CFMEU administration are approved. Have you come to a view yet about whether or not that would be significant enough to go to the Fair Work Commission to stop a strike, and what are you doing to avert that happening?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, as I say, and I think I made this point yesterday, what we saw was a threat that industrial action might occur. I'm not going to comment on what might or might not happen. Let's wait and see what actually materialises.
 
There is an enterprise bargaining dispute underway in Victoria within the construction industry. Workers obviously do have a right to take protected action within the law, but let's wait and see what materialises before I decide what I may or may not do.
 
JOURNALIST: But is there anything you can do to avert it, or is it really just "wait and see" for the next week?
 
MURRAY WATT: I've already been on the public record saying that the Fair Work Commission and the administrator of the CFMEU have met to discuss how they can facilitate the quicker approvals of Enterprise Bargaining Agreements, and I support them in doing so. When workers and businesses reach agreements about pay and conditions, we want to see them approved as quickly as possible so that people can see the benefit of their pay rates.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister, you say the policies are working. Jim Chalmers promised at budget time to get inflation back to the RBA's target band of 2 to 3 per cent by Christmas. Are you confident that will still happen?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, what I point to is the fact that when we came to office inflation was running at over 6 per cent, that's where it was under the Coalition, now it's below 4 per cent.
 
We know that there's more work to do. The policies that we're bringing in are all directed to bringing that inflation rate down. You will have seen that both the RBA and the Australian Bureau of Statistics have acknowledged that some of our policies, like energy bill relief and a range of other policies, have actually helped to take pressure off inflation, and again, I have to remind you that Peter Dutton and the Coalition have voted against every single one of those measures.
 
So on the one hand, you've got Labor tackling inflation, bringing in cost‑of‑living measures that help bring down inflation and take pressure off people, and on the other hand you've got Peter Dutton and the Coalition saying no, and saying that Australians should be under even more cost‑of‑living pressure.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on the economic forecasts, we've still got a way to go until we reach the 4.5 per cent unemployment predicted by the budget earlier this year. Do still expect unemployment to rise later this year?
 
MURRAY WATT: What you would have seen today is that unemployment remains steady at 4.2 per cent, while we did continue to create those extra 47,500 jobs. We know that the economy is softening, and that is likely to have some impact on the unemployment rate going forward, and that's one of the reasons why we are taking that very careful approach ensuring that the Australian economy does see inflation continue to come down but doesn't go into reverse.
 
So, we'll keep an eye on that, but we know that the labour market is soft.
 
JOURNALIST: But on the promise of getting rates into the RBA's band by Christmas, can Labor deliver?
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, I'm not going to make any sort of comments or speculation about what the Reserve Bank might decide to do. What I can say is that Labor is doing everything we possibly can to take pressure off cost of living and to reduce inflation, and the proof is in the pudding by the fact that we have already managed to halve inflation compared to where it was when we first came to office.
 
We know that there's more to do, we know that Australians are doing it tough, and we know that Labor is the only party in this building that is delivering the cost‑of‑living relief that Australians need right now.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister, two thirds of the jobs under this Government have been ‑ are in the non‑market sector, so essentially funded by the taxpayer, healthcare, social assistance, the public sector. What role does the Government have, I guess, through its public spending in jacking up the jobs market and delaying any move by the Reserve Bank on the cuts.
 
MURRAY WATT: Well, it is true that many of the jobs that are being created in the Australian economy under the Labor Government have been in public services, thinking things like the NDIS, education services, health services, and I don't see anyone out there saying that we need fewer nurses, fewer disability carers, fewer teachers in our economy.
 
So, we make no apologies for the fact that we do invest in public services to make sure that Australians receive good quality public services.
 
Of course, there's a substantial number of new jobs that are being created in the private sector as well, and we welcome that and congratulate employers for having done so.
 
But I certainly don't agree with the position that Peter Dutton and the Coalition are putting forward, which is that we can cut $315 billion out of the Government budget and pretend that that's not going to have an impact on unemployment or the economy. That is a sure-fire way to turn the Australian economy around and send it into recession, and that is not the goal of the Albanese Labor Government.
 
JOURNALIST: Without your public spending, then we wouldn't have seen job gains that we have the last two years, do you think?
 
MURRAY WATT: Oh, we still would have seen, as I say, a substantial number of private sector jobs being created. That has continued to occur, and that's a good thing. But I think it's a good thing that we have more disability support workers out caring for people at the moment, I think it's a good thing that we see more early childhood education and care workers, aged care workers, teachers, nurses, the kind of people behind me.
 
I think it's good that we have more people working in these areas, caring for other Australians, while at the same time providing good economic conditions for the private sector to grow as well.
 
JOURNALIST: Just on interest rates, are you happy to see interest rates stay on hold as long as we're able to preserve those labour market gains that we've seen? 
 
MURRAY WATT: Again, I'm not going to comment or provide advice to the RBA on what they should do about interest rates.
 
We do recognise that higher interest rates have been having a really strong effect on the Australian economy as well as on working people like those gathered behind me. We'll keep working to bring inflation down, take cost‑of‑living pressure off Australians and continue to do that work to bring down inflation.