OPINION: Digitisation and climate change are the fastest changes Australians have ever faced. The summit and the white paper which follows must set out how the nation copes with them.
Big things are happening in our economy. They are happening with a velocity without precedent and they are changing everything.
, which sounds a very dry and bureaucratic outcome for such a promising event. White papers have become an increasingly rare occurrence, the most recent being the Foreign Policy White Paper in 2017.Yet a white paper process is an important tool in a government’s kit bag. It signals and shapes big changes and we should see this one as a golden opportunity to shape our collective future.
As Australians, we are enthusiastic early adopters. We see this in banking every day. In June 2021, 92 per cent of Australians conducted a banking activity online, up from 86 per cent in May 2019. The increase was among all Australians, regardless of age or location. In March 2022, 39 per cent of Australians with smartphones reported making a payment with a digital wallet, up from 18 per cent just three years earlier.
As the economy digitises and decarbonises at pace, we will need to ensure our people have the right skills to harness the opportunities ahead. to install 3000 solar panels, 1000 electric vehicle recharging points and 15,000 heat pumps a day. As banks and investors contemplate funding the major energy projects we need, they need confidence that the skills are there to underpin the project.Every day banks hear from businesses looking to expand that are held back by labour and skills shortages. We need to tackle this head on, with new and better skilled-migration programs that have paths to permanency, and lure backpackers and students.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jobs summit updates LIVE: Business risks being used as props for Labor’s jobs summit: LeyWage growth in enterprise agreements lifts to 3.2pc; deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley says business must be wary of getting too close to Labor. Follow updates here.
Read more »
Women ‘robbed’ of $321k as they face 23.4-year wait for pay parityIf the Albanese government wants to encourage more women back into the workplace, it is critical that better pay is a focus of the Jobs and Skills Summit.
Read more »
Banks out, super funds in at Labor jobs summitSuper fund bosses such as AustralianSuper’s Paul Schroder have been deemed more important than “Team Australia” bankers to attend the Jobs and Skills Summit.
Read more »
Great expectations for migrant quota boost may fall on deaf earsA mooted increase in the migration cap to be discussed at the jobs summit may not be enough to plug the gaps, states say.
Read more »
Top lawyers back call for lower-skilled visaThey say such a scheme, which has been proposed by NSW Treasurer Matt Kean before next week’s jobs summit, would be an “immediate” way to ease skills shortages.
Read more »