Event is a 'critical step for Australia's future,' industry experts say
Three major industries recently released a joint statement towards their collective ambition for the Jobs and Skills Summit, in the hopes of building a more productive and competitive Australia.
The industries, composed of the Australian Chamber of Commerce Industry (ACCI), Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), and the Business Council of Australia (BCA), outlined their support for the Summit and the Employment White Paper to follow, which are both crucial for Australia’s future, ACCI said in a media release.
“The Summit is a chance to find common ground and agree on the key resets needed to position Australia for the future, but we can’t solve every problem overnight, so the process that comes after will be crucial,” Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.
“This is an opportunity to move Australia to the frontier by driving stronger economic performance, making ourselves more competitive and productive, and attracting the investment needed to diversify our industrial base, do new things and create new opportunities,” she added.
Increased productivity
According to ACCI’s media release, the three industries agreed that there should be strong support for lifting productivity, which will be vital to obtaining the goals of higher incomes, more opportunities, and advancements in fairness and gender inclusivity.
“The realignment of the global economy presents significant challenges to simply maintain, let alone improve on, economic growth and the broader wellbeing needed to secure national prosperity,” ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar said.
“The Jobs and Skills Summit offers a critical opportunity to revitalise productivity, grow pay packets and maintain our strong standards of living,” he added.
Well-equipped nation
Aside from increased productivity, ACCI emphasized that for years, one of the main tools for Australia’s economic progress has been the development of dramatically redistributive tax and income support arrangements and strong involvement of the public sector in health, education, and infrastructure.
Hence, the major industries hope for the retention of the broad policy settings that backed Australia’s long period without recessions pre-pandemic and that supported the resumption of progress since the COVID-19 pandemic recession.
“These include an open economy with strong private sector direction of resource allocation; low tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade; openness to international investment; a flexible exchange rate; prudent fiscal policy; and monetary policy managed in line with the objectives of full employment and low inflation by an independent central bank,” ACCI said.
Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox also noted that agreement on renewed skilled migration and efforts to build Australia’s skills base should be a priority at the Summit as this would be a key instrument in building the nation’s economic well-being.
“Likewise, there is a lot of common ground in recognising that to build collaboration our workplace relations system needs to be simplified rather than upended,” Willox said.
Points for improvement
According to ACCI, the three industries also agreed that the critical points for improvement that should be given immediate action at the Jobs and Skills Summit include:
- Greater and more efficient investment in workforce skilling and training, which is central to productivity, income growth, and broadening opportunities.
- Workplace relations arrangements that work to deliver high-income growth and the flexibility of opportunities for employees, employers, and the self-employed that are in demand in modern Australia.
- Improvements in workforce participation and inclusion. These areas include people whose economic and social involvement are inhibited by disadvantage; people aged over 60 where participation faces a range of barriers; people, typically women, whose participation is hampered by their unpaid caring roles.
- Better equipping Australia for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead including decarbonisation, population aging, digitalisation, and the scope to improve our approach to health and other caring services.
- Harnessing the private sector’s power and the active development of skills, infrastructure, and efficient and clear regulatory settings by the public sector.
Willox also said that after the Summit, there is still much work to be done while writing the White Paper “to guide the progress of key policy agreements.”
