Anthony Albanese has expressed hope that a ‘culture of cooperation’ will emerge as the country recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government is focusing on jobs and workplace reforms as the country faces economic challenges in the recovery phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking in Canberra to mark 100 days of Labor government, Albanese said his government had a pro-business and pro-growth agenda.
This week’s Government Employment Summit will bring together major employers and trade unions to discuss wage growth, productivity, migration and workplace reforms.
“My biggest hope is the beginning of a culture of cooperation,” Albanese told the National Press Club on Monday.
Albanese said the widespread skills shortage was acting as a handbrake on the economy, and it was unwise for the previous government to tell temporary visa holders to leave Australia when the borders were closed.
In addition to talks about lifting Australia’s immigration intake, the government will look to create “additional pathways to permanent migration” to attract foreign workers, including nursing and engineering, he said.
The government’s immediate priority is to grow the economy to provide security and certainty for families and businesses, he said.
“Australia is already in a ‘recovery’ phase – which is presenting its own economic challenges. including significant and unpredictable supply and demand imbalances that increase costs for businesses and households.
The pandemic was a race for which Australia was unprepared, he said.
“We are left vulnerable – not just through carelessness and lack of planning, but through years of cuts and willful neglect of the services and skills we most need. Hanging at the end of the global supply chain, we are economically exposed.
Nurses, teachers and aged care workers have been decimated by the epidemic and it is essential to increase employment in these sectors for the next decade, he said.
Many industries and small businesses in hospitality, tourism and education were also struggling to restart.
Albanese criticized the conservative previous government’s record nine years in power, including the “chaos” of energy policy and wage hikes.
He highlighted his government’s action on climate change, his decision to hold a national referendum to recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the constitution and his support for raising the minimum wage.
Australia’s central bank warned this month that inflation was heading for a three-decade high, prompting further increases in interest rates as growth slows sharply.
