The Government does not intend to act on a mock bill to abolish the starting out wage that passed with an overwhelming majority in Youth Parliament on Wednesday.
The 2022 Youth Parliament event saw Youth MPs debate the mock Minimum Wage (Starting Out Wage Abolition) Amendment Bill, with 25 participants making a speech on the topic.
Most of the speeches were in favour of scrapping the youth wage, with many citing age discrimination as a reason they would be voting for the mock bill.
Anoushka Majmudar, the Youth MP representing the Greens' Ricardo Menendez March, said in her speech that the starting out wage allowed employers to "justify paying us poverty wages".
"They believe they’re giving us opportunities instead of us providing them labour that keeps their businesses running.”
She said lower wages hit young people harder in the wake of rising living costs.
“At the same time, oil companies, supermarkets and other industries are making massive profits,” she said.
“Our generation deserves better.”
In the personal vote, 97 Youth MPs voted in favour of the bill, and 19 voted against it. There were three abstentions.
However, there aren’t any plans to enact similar legislation in Parliament.
Workplace Relations Minister Michael Wood told 1News the starting out wage would remain in place.
“We do think there are potentially some benefits in terms of a bit of an incentive for young people to be hired,” he said.
“There is some value potentially in ensuring that young people do get a shot at some of those jobs that they otherwise might not be able to get the opportunity for.”
The Green Party’s Work Relations and Safety spokesperson Jan Logie voiced support for the mock bill, saying it was important young workers felt valued.
“I don’t think we achieve that when we pay people less just because of their age,” she said.
“The idea that young people don’t contribute to their society… is just demeaning and embarrassing.”
Former Green MP Sue Bradford, who introduced a member’s bill in 2007 to scrap the youth wage altogether, said it was "ridiculous" to claim employers can’t afford to pay young workers proper wages.
Bradford’s bill eventually passed into law in 2007, but negotiations during the select committee stage saw the starting out wage remain for 16- and 17-year-olds.
She called this year’s mock bill “overdue”, and she was “looking forward to seeing what the Labour and Green MPs do in terms of picking this up, because they should.”
Bradford said arguments saying that abolishing the youth wage is anti-business were “ridiculous”.
“The more fine young workers [employers] can attract and retain to the job the better for their business.
“It’s good for them, not the opposite.”
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