May Day Rally | Prime Minister of Australia
Well friends, I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet, and I pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.
And I recommit the government I lead to the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, with constitutional recognition enshrined with a Voice to our Parliament.
And we will give Australians the opportunity to vote yes for a better future in the last quarter of this year.
And I want to thank in advance the mighty trade union movement for following on the tradition that can be traced back for generations.
It was the trade union movement that backed up Vincent Lingiari, when he walked off, along with his people, off Wave Hill.
It is the trade union movement that has stood up for justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
And I’m very confident that the trade union movement will be part of a successful campaign to achieve constitutional recognition this year.
My friends, I came here last year as the Labor leader, and I stood here and I promised to be back as the Prime Minister this year, and here we are.
I promised that a Labor Government that I lead would look after the interests of working people.
And the first thing we did was put in a submission to the Fair Work Commission to make sure that those people got a fair pay increase.
Remember the dollar coin they said would ruin the economy?
Well, it got done by the Fair Work Commission and I’m proud of it.
We promised we’d look after aged care workers, and on July 1 that 15 per cent wage increase will happen.
We promised 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave, and today it is law.
We promised to put gender pay equity as an objective of the Fair Work Act, and that is law.
We promised that workers and unions would have the right to bargain collectively, and today that is law.
We promised to abolish the ABCC, and it is gone.
We promised to abolish the Registered Organisations Commission, and today it is gone.
We promised to look after the interests of those working Australians, who are the people who were the true heroes of the pandemic.
We said that they needed more than thanks, and that is what my government, working hand in hand with the Queensland Government, led so brilliantly by Annastacia Palaszczuk, my friend, is delivering for Queenslanders.
But friends, we know there is more to do.
And in the Budget, which is just eight sleeps away, what you’ll see is cost of living support for people under pressure.
What you’ll see is a plan to make sure that those people in central Queensland and other areas, dealing with change in the economy, are not left behind.
That we provide support for new industries and new jobs, as well as making sure that we look after working people.
We promised better opportunities for better jobs for Australians, and we’re delivering 180,000 fee-free TAFE places this year.
Friends, May Day is a celebration of all that working people have achieved, by combining, in trade unions to organise collectively because individuals can’t possibly achieve the sort of justice that we need.
Justice in wages and conditions, justice in gender pay equity, justice when it comes to safety in the workplace, so that all those who go to work to drive our economy can come home safely.
We promised that unions would not just be heard but would be respected.
And with the Australian Labour Advisory Committee, where we sit around and we discuss common issues going forward and how to advance the national interest, that is happening.
I look forward to coming back here year after year.
Queensland is such a great state, you have such an enormous opportunity, if governments have the courage to seize that opportunity for new jobs and new industries, for new growth, whilst looking after the pristine natural environment that makes this such a great state.
I’m very proud to represent the people here, the labour movement, as Prime Minister of Australia.
I promised I’d be back, I promised we’d deliver, and we’ll continue to do so.
Happy May Day