Roche Denise: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoche Denise: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 26 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1989. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]8.DENISE ROCHE (Green) to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: Should the minimum wage be enough to live on?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Energy and Resources) on behalf of theMinister for Workplace Relations and Safety: The minimum wage is an hourly rate not an amount of total family income. The majority of those on the minimum wage are young people under 25. Many are students working part-time who often have access to other means of Government and family support. However the Government recognises that it is not easyfor those on lower incomes particularly those with children. That is why the Government provides targeted support for low-income families through things like Working for Families the accommodation supplement and income-related rents. That support can of course amount to many hundreds of dollars a week.Denise Roche: Is it fair that minimum wages rose by just $20 a week and the student allowance by 90c in the same week that MPs are likely to hear that our pay has increased by about $200?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Be very clear—the minimum wage is now the highest in the world relative to average incomes and the fourth highest in real terms in the world. We have put it up every single year. Be very clear also that this Government does not agree with the Remuneration Authority but of course that is an independent body.Denise Roche: How can he justify a minimum wage increase that after the rent has been paid leaves workers much worse off than they were a year ago?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: That is simply nonsense. Let me repeat—we have increased it every single year we have been in office. It is now—on really any measurement—one of the highest minimum wages in the world. But we have also got to be careful that we do not put people out of work and that is the difficult balancing act that we as a Government and a responsible one take on board.Denise Roche: Is it fair that $20 a week is only half as much as the average rent increase in the past year leaving workers way out of pocket?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I remind the member that in fact the minimum wage has gone up over $100 a week under this Government.Denise Roche: Will he peg real minimum wage increases in the future to the rate that productivity rises or does he not think it is fair that workers get a share of the wealth that they are producing for their country?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: In fact the minimum wage at this time—from 1 April—has gone up by more than wage increases on average in this country. As I say it is now one of on any measure the member likes to take the highest in the world.Denise Roche: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was asking about whether he would peg it to productivity—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am going to invite the member to ask that question again.Denise Roche: Will he peg real minimum wage increases in the future to the rate that productivity increases or does he not think it is fair that workers get a share of the wealth they are producing for their country?Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Well I would note as I say that at 3.5 percent it has probably gone up by more than the measure the member is using. There is a wide range of factors that go into determining the minimum wage—inflation and to some extent the productivity measure that the member talks of.