Employment Minister Michaelia Cash fires back over minimum wage submission

Neil Mitchell has grilled Employment Minister Michaelia Cash as the debate heats up on raising the minimum wage for Australia’s lowest paid workers.

In a submission to the Fair Work Commission for its annual wage review, the Coalition called for a cautious approach stating ‘low income workers are often found in high-income households’.

The ACTU has called for Australia’s lowest paid workers to receive an additional $45 a week.

But Ms Cash said the submission should be looked at in its entirety. 

Neil: You’ve put this argument many of the people on lowest wage are coming from wealthier households – how many of them?

Senator Cash: I don’t have the figure, it’s not as simple as that. You pick and choose a particular line from the submission and what you then lose is the totality of what the submission says.

Neil: You’ve got to be answerable to every line in the submission.

Click PLAY to hear the full discussion: