Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has declared Canberra is about to be showcased as the "capital of consensus" and at "its most meaningful" as it prepares to host the Albanese government's much vaunted jobs and skills summit.
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The two-day event, to be held at Parliament House from Thursday, has been derided by some quarters, including the crossbench, as a "big PR stunt", but Dr Chalmers said the summit lead-up was imbued with the spirit of cooperation and collaboration while the government was "not naive" but "enthused and energised" about the task ahead.
"This is our opportunity to show the idea of Canberra, made real, for more people," Dr Chalmers told The Canberra Times.
"Not every good idea begins and ends in Canberra, but Canberra is where ideas and people from all over Australia can come together to see their ideas become national policy. This is the opportunity to see Canberra at its most meaningful and we won't miss that opportunity."
Unions and business groups, among the 130-odd invitees, are pushing for industrial relations reform and are striking early overarching agreements ahead of the event, particularly to cooperate over industry-wide bargaining.
"Already we've been heartened by the work that's gone in. We've been heartened by the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. We're not naive about the contentious issues. And our expectations are appropriately managed," Dr Chalmers said.
"But I think if we come out of this jobs and skills summit with some ways forward, a handful of ways forward in an immediate sense, and some longer term projects to work on as part of the employment white paper, then it will be seen as a success."
Workplace bargaining, the annual migrant cap, possible visa changes and apprenticeships are on the summit's wide agenda as the government seeks to boost wages, update workplace laws and address a nation-wide skills crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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But there are concerns that any possible fix for stagnant wages may be overwhelmed by rampant cost-of-living rises.
The Treasurer is adamant the fuel excise relief will not be extended beyond September 28, saying "people didn't elect us just to do the easy things, they elected us to do the right thing".
"And we've been upfront with people and said, to extend that for even six months, would cost the budget $3 billion," Dr Chalmers said.
"We've inherited a budget heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal debt, and so we need to balance all of our different priorities. And when it comes to cost-of-living relief our priorities are childcare, medicines and getting wages moving again."
It is the same story with childcare reform. Labor's changes, including 90 per cent subsidised childcare, are due to start July 1 but there are calls to bring them forward to January 1 as a productivity measure to stimulate the economy.
"We are constrained by the budget situation that we've inherited. We can't do everything that we would like to do," he said.
"The changes which will come into place on the first of July will make a meaningful difference, not just to the cost of living for families, but also for their ability to earn more and work more if they want to. And it will help fill some of these skills and labour shortages that we're seeing right around the economy."
The ACT government is seeking a boost to skilled migration - almost double the current number. There are acute skills shortages in construction, health, education, information and communications technologies, and hospitality. Housing for any worker influx would urgently need to be addressed, according to Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
The public sector is a major ACT employer, and it is having job-filling difficulties as well - just as Labor starts to fulfil its election promise to crackdown on contractors - but citizenship is a big requirement. Could the field be opened up?
"Well, first of all, we see the public service as an absolutely crucial part of our economy and a crucial part of the labour market," the Treasurer said.
"Where we can set an example in the public service, we will do that, whether it's gender pay, or other important issues and challenges that we have in the labour market.
"Our focus on the migration front is all about more responsible settings for migration, which are not a substitute for training local people."