The Herald's View: The summit might not be as historic as in 1983 but it should try to reinvigorate the economic policy debate which all but fizzled out after nine years under the Coalition
When Bob Hawke and Paul Keating held a national economic summit in April 1983 one of the secrets of its success was that it was fairly well-prepared.
He issued a discussion paper this week which included five broad themes: Full employment and productivity; boosting job security and wages; lifting participation and reducing barriers to employment; delivering a high quality labour force through skills training and migration; industries of the future.
Chalmers is right to be cautious because he is bound by the economic policies he took to the last election. If he pulls rabbits out of a hat, he will be accused of breaking his promises. He said that usually in times like the present, when there are acute labour shortages and unemployment is low, workers can extract wage rises from employers.
If the government does reform industrial relations laws to strengthen workers bargaining power, it must make sure that the new rules benefit the most vulnerable and not just better paid workers with industrial muscle in sectors such as mining and energy.
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