Neil Mitchell has grilled Employment Minister Michaelia Cash as the debate heats up on raising the minimum wage for Australia’s lowest paid workers.

In a submission to the Fair Work Commission for its annual wage review, the Coalition called for a cautious approach stating ‘low income workers are often found in high-income households’.

The ACTU has called for Australia’s lowest paid workers to receive an additional $45 a week.

But Ms Cash said the submission should be looked at in its entirety. 

Neil: You’ve put this argument many of the people on lowest wage are coming from wealthier households – how many of them?

Senator Cash: I don’t have the figure, it’s not as simple as that. You pick and choose a particular line from the submission and what you then lose is the totality of what the submission says.

Neil: You’ve got to be answerable to every line in the submission.

Click PLAY to hear the full discussion: