I have to confess I would have personally preferred a smaller rise, if only to avoid the inevitable accusations from the media that the wage-fixing body is too close to the Government (and that the Government is in turn too close to the unions).

However, even if there had been no rise at all, the Australian minimum hourly rate would have stayed at $A14:25 or so, which at today's exchange rate is almost exactly $US12:00.

So, the obvious question. How is it that Australia can afford a minimum wage double that of the strongest nation on Earth, without noticeably higher unemployment? We do not have a more skilled workforce overall than the US, quite the reverse in fact (we run a massive trade deficit with the US because of non-participation in many areas of high-end manufacturing).

A relatively small population in a physically large (if dry) country with a big mining sector is part of the answer, but I don't see it as the whole answer.