Anthony Albanese Speech to the McKell Institute
On Wednesday 20 September 2020, Labor Leader Anthony Albanese addressed the McKell Institute in Sydney.
Speaking to the upcoming budget, Albanese outlined how Labor plans to generate economic activity, create new jobs and boost productivity.
Mr Albanese’s priorities focus on five key areas:
- Infrastructure
- Social Housing
- Education and Training
- Manufacturing
- Job Security
Infrastructure
Mr Albanese announced he was keen to start investing in roads and railways around the nation, particularly in regional areas. This would create jobs and inject economic activity into sluggish local economies.
Social Housing
Social housing repair and maintenance programs are a priority for Labor. This would create a national pipeline of work for plumbers, chippies and electricians, and their suppliers.
Education and Training
In response to the Reserve Bank inference that the economy was being held back by skills shortages, a Labor Government would create Jobs and Skills Australia; an independent body to align training programs with the skills our businesses actually need.
A Labor Government would also lift investment in early education and universities. It would revive the education and training sector and also improve labour market programs to support vulnerable job seekers.
Manufacturing
A Labor Government would invest in in Australian-made trains and Australian-based jobs to supply hundreds of new rail carriages for new public transport projects.
The facilities in Maryborough, Ballarat, Bendigo, Newcastle and Perth were listed as appropriate sites.
Smart investment
With record levels of debt, massive deficits and the economy in recession every dollar of new spending must be used to protect jobs, create secure jobs, train and up-skill Australians and support those who need help.
A Labor Government would test spending proposals for the effect of boosting economic productivity, and driving growth. Any dollar borrowed in the Budget must create or sustain jobs, or skill people up for those jobs.
Job Security
When it comes to structural reform, the Budget also needs to heed one of the issues to emerge from the pandemic — job security.
Labor will never allow industrial relations reform to hurt working families by cutting wages and making it easier to sack people.
Australia needs a national reform project to increase job security for all Australians.
Energy
Australia needs a target of net zero emissions by 2050, supported by the Business Council of Australia, the National Farmers Federation and every State and Territory Government.
Clean energy can power Australia’s economic recovery. Action on climate change will create jobs, reduce power prices and lower emissions.
Labor’s ambition for Australia, is to become a renewable energy superpower.
Renewable energy could power generations of metal manufacturing and other energy intensive manufacturing industries.
A Labor Government will invest in research and development to ensure development of new export industries that take advantage the rare earth elements that will fuel the clean energy economies of the 21st century.
Hydrogen is also identified as having enormous potential as an export industry.
Aged Care
A Labor Government would invest in aged care and the care economy workforce, including child care and disability care.
The plan for aged care includes minimum staffing levels, more home care, transparency of funding, public reporting, adequate personal protective equipment, better training and surge workforce strategy, and additional resources for the Royal Commission.
Further information
You can read Hawker Britton’s full analysis of Labor’s ‘Future of Work’ vision statement here. Labor’s 2019 Federal Election Review can be accessed here.
Anthony Albanese’s full address to the McKell Institute can be accessed here.
For more information, please contact your Hawker Britton consultant Simon Banks on +61 419 638 587. Further Hawker Britton Occasional Papers on the activities of the Federal Opposition are available here.