The number of underutilised Australian workers (unemployed or underemployed wanting more hours) rose from 1.35 million in June 2022 to 1.68 million in June 2026.
The Albanese government has permitted high migration levels when there is an insufficient amount of work for the 1.68 million underutilised Australians.
Minister Gallagher defended the government’s economic record, pointing to over a million jobs created, low unemployment and record-high participation rates.
She noted that the government has reduced net overseas migration by about 45% from its post-COVID peak and added that industries and businesses have raised concerns about our immigration policy.
She went on to say that wages are rising, women are working more hours due to childcare support, and the government continues to support economic opportunities for workers.
I pointed out that high underutilisation suppresses wage growth and that the Wage Price Index shows real wages have fallen by 1.5% since the Labor government took power.
Further, the government’s immigration policy of creating a labour glut that lowers real wages is undermining workers’ pay.
Minister Gallagher responded saying that the government consistently supports higher wages (including minimum wage increases and pay rises in female dominated industries like aged care and childcare), whereas opposition parties frequently vote against these measures.
Over 70% of new jobs are in the taxpayer-funded care economy (health, NDIS, aged care, education) rather than the private sector. This is nothing but a “Ponzi job scheme.” I asked if the Labor government would admit immigration is a disaster for taxpayers and workers.
Minister Gallagher strongly defended care economy jobs (such as in hospitals, aged care, disability, and childcare), noting they are difficult, emotional and vital services that an aging population and working families rely on, rather than jobs to be trivialised.
I was not “trivialising” these valued jobs – this was just another Question Time of Labor dodging the hard questions.
Transcript
Senator ROBERTS: My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Gallagher. The Australian Bureau of Statistics produce a measure called the ‘underutilisation rate of Australian workers’, which is people without a job or those who have a job yet need more hours than are available. In June 2022, at the start of the Albanese government, there were 1.35 million Australians underutilised in the workforce. In June 2026, this had increased to 1.68 million Australians. This is a significant increase on both an actual and percentage basis. Minister, why has the Albanese government brought in so many new arrivals when there is already insufficient work for 1.68 million Australians and rising?
Senator GALLAGHER (Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate): This government is all about increasing employment opportunities for Australians, and I think the last figure I saw was over a million jobs which had been created under this government. Unemployment has remained very low, and participation rates are at record highs. That is our record on employment across the economy. Your question I think links to migration and some of the debates that you’ve been having around this in One Nation. You would know, Senator Roberts, that we have reduced net overseas migration by about 45 per cent compared to the post-COVID peak. We did see a pull forward after the COVID years, essentially after the borders reopened, and net overseas migration has been tracking down since then.
We are a country that relies on migration to support the economy and have historically, and indeed in recent months, in response to some of the policies that you’ve been outlining, we are seeing more and more businesses and industry raising concerns about those policies and the impact they would have on our economy. We have unemployment sitting in the low fours. We’ve got jobs created under our government the most that we’ve seen in government over a sustained period of time. We’ve got participation rates at record highs. We’ve got wages up. Women are working more and working more hours because of some of the work we’ve done to support wages in the feminised sector and to ensure that the childcare system works for them. On all of those metrics, Senator Roberts, I think you can see where we stand, which is about making sure that there are choices and opportunities for Australian workers in this country, and we’ll continue that approach.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Roberts, first supplementary.
Senator ROBERTS: Underutilisation predicts wage movement. The more workers desperate for extra hours to keep their head above water, the less employers need to pay to secure that labour. The wage price index, an ABS measure, shows Australian workers have gone backwards 1.5 per cent since this government came to power backwards. The data is in. Your policy of mass immigration is creating a glut of labour, pulling down real wages. Minister, why is your government undermining Australian workers’ wages?
Senator GALLAGHER: I think there is only one party in this chamber that supports increasing wages for working people. You can see that in every test that’s brought to this chamber. In every single test that’s brought to this chamber where you get a vote on it, more often than not, you all vote together over there to oppose working Australians getting good and reasonable wage increases. That is what we’ve done in government. We have supported increases to the minimum wage, increases to highly feminised low-wage industries like aged care and child care. When we have had those debates on this floor, those who sit on that side of the chamber have tended to oppose them. I think Australians know that it’s this government that will always argue for better wages, better conditions and better protections, including through superannuation for Australians.
The PRESIDENT: Senator Roberts, second supplementary.
Senator ROBERTS: Treasurer Chalmers stated last week six out of seven jobs created since 2022 were in the private sector. This statement is deceptive. Over 70 per cent of the jobs created are in the taxpayer funded economy—health, NDIS, aged care and education. Minister, 1.68 million underutilised workers, 1.5 per cent fall in real wages and now a Ponzi job scheme—will you admit your immigration invasion is a disaster for taxpayers, workers and their families?
Senator GALLAGHER: I want to distance myself from the content and the language used in that question, for a start order. In relation to jobs in the non-market economy, Senator Roberts, if you need any kind of care in a hospital, aged care, disability or child care, those are legitimate jobs. They are hard jobs. The people who work in those jobs put their body on the line. They are physical jobs. They are emotional jobs. They are difficult jobs. I have worked in that sector. I don’t know whether you have, but I don’t think you would be trivialising them if you had worked in those sectors. They are legitimate jobs, and more and more our community relies on them. We have an ageing population, and we have parents with children who have a disability, who expect their child to be cared for and provided support in the way that any other parent would. We have working parents who need child care. These are legitimate, good jobs, and they should be valued. (Time expired)
