2 days Ago By Tess Ikonomou
Anthony Albanese has begun the effort to sandbag seats in Victoria, where Labor is pointing to its push for a pay rise for low-paid workers across the country. or signup to continue reading The prime minister landed in the key battleground state on Tuesday afternoon, with more than a dozen of Victoria's 38 seats under watch. It was once labelled the "Massachusetts of Australia" by former prime minister John Howard, but Mr Albanese faces a challenge as voters increasingly turn away from the unpopular state Labor government.
Lots of attention will be on the fights in Melbourne's outer suburbs between Labor and the Liberals, but the government must also contend with the Greens gunning for inner-city seats at the May 3 election. Bob Hawke's old seat of Wills in Melbourne's inner north is being contested by former Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam, who hopes to benefit from the well-off progressives in the electorate and large Muslim communities angry over Labor's position on the Israel-Gaza war. As the prime minister tries to reinforce his message about the relief his government has already given households - including tax cuts and cheaper energy bills - he will announce support for a rise for low-paid workers.
The government on Wednesday announced it has made a submission to the Fair Work Commission's 2025 minimum wage review. It wants the commission to deliver an "economically sustainable real wage" increase above inflation for about three million low paid workers. Mr Albanese used the submission to play up Labor's role in delivering wage increases, lower inflation and a fall in interest rates.
"This campaign we will again be advocating for workers to get a pay rise to not only help them deal with the pressures of today, but to get ahead in the future," he said. Workplace Minister Murray Watt said the government wasn't going to put a percentage on its asked-for pay rise, saying that was a decision for the commission. "We've seen the Fair Work Commission award slightly higher than inflation wage rises for the lowest paid (in the past)," he told Sky News.
Mr Watts added that the minimum wage in Australia is "only" around $47,000 a year. "So we believe we can afford to see those workers receive a pay rise that is economically sustainable, but also allows them to keep up with the cost of living," he said. The cost of living is the most important issue for voters at this election, and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has jumped on dissatisfaction by targeting mortgage-belt seats.
In the first week of the election campaign, the prime minister has kept health front and centre of his bid for re-election, making a health-related announcement almost every day and in different states. He has also sought to capitalise on the popularity of Labor premiers in Western Australia and South Australia. Advertisement Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.
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