Australia news live: floodwaters cut major Queensland highway; wage growth ‘fastest since 2013’ | Australia weather

Paul Karp

The treasurer Jim Chalmers has released treasury research of ABS data showing the wage price index increased 1% in the September quarter, up 3.1% through the year.

That is the fastest through‑the‑year growth rate since the March quarter of 2013, well above the annual average growth rate of 2.2% over the past five years and 2.3% over the past decade.

However, with inflation reaching up to 8% in the last quarter of 2022 it’s important to note this still represents real wage cuts.

One of the biggest drivers of wage growth for the low paid was the Fair Work Commission’s 5.2% raise in the minimum wage.

Chalmers said:

Our economic plan is all about getting wages growing again, and it’s already starting to work. If there is one thing that drives this whole government, it’s our ambition to deliver the decent wages that Australians need and deserve. The best way to deal with cost of living pressures is to help ensure ordinary Australian workers can earn enough to provide for their loved ones and get ahead.

We are really pleased to see the beginnings of wages growth after a decade of deliberate wage stagnation and suppression under our predecessors. We don’t have an inflation challenge in our economy because wages are too high, we have an inflation problem because of a war in Ukraine, pressure on global supply chains, and other challenges ignored for too long. We said we’d get wages moving again in responsible ways and we are.

Top of the Tuesday morning to you! Welcome to a fresh Guardian Australia live blog.

We wake up to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, releasing new data that shows the wage price index increased 1% in the September quarter, up 3.1% through the year. That is the fastest through‑the‑year growth rate since the March quarter of 2013. But with inflation reaching up to 8% in the last quarter of 2022 it’s important to note this still represents real wage cuts.

And flooding escalates: emergency refuges are being opened in north Queensland as rising waters isolate towns and cut off roads, including the Bruce Highway, leaving motorists and freight stranded. The Bureau of Meteorology said the coast and ranges north of Mackay could be pummelled by up to 400mm through the day.

I’m Rafqa Touma, taking the blog through the day. If you spot something you don’t want us to miss, you can Tweet it my way @At_Raf_

Let’s get started with the day’s rolling news coverage.