Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (14:35): I thank Senator Brockman for the question. If you listened to my previous answer, I was talking about how wages are moving faster than they have. Opposition senators interjecting— Senator GALLAGHER: I know. Get excited. But we've currently got one minute and 45 seconds for me to answer this question, and I intend to take every last second of it, because wages are something that matters to this government, unlike yours, which had keeping wages low as a deliberate design feature of its economic architecture. The PRESIDENT: Senator Gallagher, please resume your seat. Senator Brockman? Senator Brockman: President, this was an extraordinarily narrow question. Past rulings from presidents have indicated that a glancing reference to the opposition is acceptable. We only have a very narrow question, and I ask you to draw the minister to the question or sit her down. Government senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Brockman. Order on my right! Senator Watt interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order, Senator Watt! Senator Brockman, I will remind the senator of your question, and I'll also remind you that the senator said she intended to answer it in full. Senator GALLAGHER: I did say I was going to answer it in full, and I am going to take the time that's allocated to me to answer it. I can understand why those opposite don't want to hear an answer about wages, because such an appalling feature of their economic plan was to keep wages low and to ensure that working people didn't get the wage increases that they deserved to deal with the cost of living and to ensure living standards remained high. As Senator Brockman—or former president Brockman, with that instruction that he gave me in the point of order to you, Madam President—would know, we are experiencing a period of high inflation, so that does impact on real wage outcomes. We have said that inflation is staying higher for longer than we would like, and the highest quarter of inflation actually occurred on the former government's watch, in the March quarter of 2022. So, whilst inflation remains high and wages are improving—and they are improving—real wage outcomes will be affected, and we are seeing that. It's forecast in our budget. Opposition senators interjecting— Senator GALLAGHER: Well, you all have the budget papers in front of you. I know what you're trying to do. I am being honest about the issue. The PRESIDENT: Minister Gallagher, please resume your seat. Senator Birmingham? Senator Birmingham: President, the minister has now had one minute and 50 seconds of the two minutes of which she intended to use every possible second before answering the question. In the remaining 10 seconds, I invite her to be drawn to the very specific question: does Minister Gallagher know what the real wages outcome was for 2022-23, and will she tell the Senate? The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Birmingham. I'll draw the minister's attention to the question. Senator GALLAGHER: CPI, I believe, was six per cent, and wages growth was in the order of 3.6 per cent, from memory, for the 2022-23 financial year. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Brockman, first supplementary?