The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, derided it as a union talkfest, but the Albanese government achieved more than could reasonably have been expected from its jobs and skills summit. Yes, some of it was held over from national cabinet earlier this week (the extra Tafe places, for example). Some items were a long time coming and dictated by the circumstances of massive workforce shortages (permanent migration up to 195,000 and a $36m investment to speed up visa processing). One policy was even a tweak of an idea suggested by Dutton in June (the relaxation of tax rules to allow pensioners to work more).
But, add to that the massive list of industrial relations reforms outlined by Tony Burke on Thursday intended to get wages moving again (and increase workers’ power) and Labor can rightly say the summit was a success.
