Senator SHELDON (New South Wales) (16:24): Again we have those opposite talking about cost of living. Included in the MPI, of course, is wages. As has been said, they clearly want to turn around and say that this is about getting real change, but what they're about is making sure that they just join in a class war with the Minerals Council of Australia. They want to turn around and jump in with people that spent $24 million to make sure that the Australian public, the Australian community, has no further wage increases of any real nature. That's what they've been about all the way through whilst they've been in opposition. They opposed a dollar-an-hour minimum wage increase for the lowest-paid workers. They opposed a 5.4 per cent increase for minimum-paid workers. They opposed aged-care workers getting better wages, because it's just part of their class war. They can't help themselves. Why do I say it's a class war? Because the Australian public says to those across the way very clearly what they expect of them. There was a recent survey that came out today. I suggest they read it. Essential Research says that, despite millions of dollars of advertising by big business lobbies supporting the oppositions position of a class war, the vast majority of the public—64 per cent—believe that big business has too much power. So here they are, spending tens of millions of dollars to suppress wages across the economy. At the same time, they're turning around and bankrolling and astroturfing the entire Australian economy, turning around and making sure that the National Farmers Federation, ACCI, AIG—all these people they're funding, because they're on the side of big business. Roy Hill published just today as part of answers—partly answered, not fully answered questions that were put as a result of the inquiry into the closing the loopholes legislation. They said today, 'We will continue to do all we can to have this bill voted down by parliament,' because you're on the side of the most powerful people, the billionaires in this country, rather than hardworking Australians who are trying to get a decent living. Opposition senators interjecting— Senator SHELDON: They always get upset about this one. The reality is that, time and time again, they vote with Qantas, with Alan Joyce, Richard Goyder and the wonderful board. They probably even said to their mates on the board, 'Make sure that all those recalcitrants get re-elected,' because they backed this class war. You guys over there are part of the class war strategy, which most of the people in this country find absolutely ridiculous. They keep voting with their feet in every survey of what their view is. Eighty per cent of Australians agree that measures to protect workers from wage theft should be brought in. They oppose that. Sixty-five per cent agree that employees and labour hire workers should be paid the same if they are doing the same job. They oppose it. Sixty-five per cent want the government to change workplace laws to close labour hire loopholes. They oppose it because they're on one side. They're on the billionaires' side. They're on the side of the ones making all that money, who want to bankroll everybody else in the employer group, who hold the same philosophy that working people should have their wages suppressed. I'm going to say there are exceptions to that, because there are good businesses out there. One of those good businesses is Whitehaven, who just recently bought three coalmines from BHP up in Queensland. Now, BHP is, of course, one of the recalcitrants about suppressing wages and on their side for this class war that they're so adamant about waging against the Australian public. When I say 'class war', I don't mean this class or that class; I mean they're for them at the top. They're against everyone else in the middle and further below. Even Whitehaven, to their great credit, when they bought three mines off BHP—a substantially larger operation than Whitehaven that had an operation that turned around and paid between 30 and 40 per cent less for labour hire doing the exact same work. Guess what. They're not labour hire engaged by another company. They're labour hire engaged by their own company. To their credit, when Whitehaven bought those three mines, they said, 'We'll pay the highest rate to every miner working on that site.' They decided that, unlike the class warriors on the other side, they would turn around and make sure they gave a fair day's pay for a fair day's work for every other worker. Good on you, Whitehaven. Let's fight the class war together.