6 December 2022
The Albanese Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit held in September 2022 produced a number of policy recommendations to improve employment outcomes and community wellbeing, but it also acknowledged that further work was required to develop policy responses to the labour market issues confronting the nation.
As a consequence, Treasury was given the task of producing a White Paper, to be delivered late in 2023, providing “…a roadmap for Australia to build a bigger, better-trained and more productive workforce – to boost incomes and living standards and create more opportunities for more Australians.”
The scope and themes of the White Paper include:
- Full employment and increasing labour productivity growth and incomes, including the approach to achieving these objectives.
- The future of work and labour market implications of structural change.
- Job security, fair pay and conditions, including the role of workplace relations.
- Pay equity, including the gender pay gap, equal opportunities for women and the benefits of a more inclusive workforce.
- Labour force participation, labour supply and improving employment opportunities.
So, what should Treasury be thinking about in these policy domains? What are the issues and what policies do they require in response? And what policies should not be adopted?
The following four speakers presented at the forum to address these questions:
- Associate Professor Michael Coelli, Department of Economics, the University of Melbourne “Earnings, skills and structural change”
- Dr Barbara Broadway, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, the University of Melbourne “Increasing women’s labour force participation”
- Professor Mark Wooden, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, the University of Melbourne “Insecurity: Tackling a crisis that isn’t”
- Dr Cain Polidano, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, the University of Melbourne “Overcoming barriers to employment through demand-led education and training”