Summits create expectations. As David Peetz writes this morning at the start of our week-long series leading up to the September 1-2 jobs summit, Prime Minister Bob Hawke’s 1983 economic summit cemented his image as a man who could bring Australia together.

Next week’s event will attempt less, partly because the problems aren’t as big. When Hawke held his summit in April 1983, inflation was 11.4% and unemployment was 10.2%.

Today there are more vacant jobs for each unemployed Australian than ever before. Our problem isn’t finding jobs, but filling them, which is why there’s been so much focus on immigration in the leadup to the summit.

Immigration will be up for discussion, as well as sustainable wage growth. In the second of our two summit pieces this morning Michael Keating, a former head of the department of prime minister and cabinet, argues several of the most-touted solutions for wage stagnation are unlikely to help.

He says what will help is reskilling, lots of it. We need to fit the jobs we will have, rather than the jobs we had.

Peter Martin

Business + Economy Editor

What can unions and the Albanese government offer each other at the jobs summit?

David Peetz, Griffith University

Economic conditions today are very different from those that informed Bob Hawke’s 1983 summit – and that will affect what unions and the government can get from each other at the 2022 summit.

Many jobs summit ideas for lifting wages don’t make sense – upskilling does

Michael Keating, Australian National University

The best way to increase wages is to invest in education and skills.

Overseas recruitment won’t solve Australia’s aged care worker crisis

Hal Swerissen, La Trobe University

Australia needs an additional 35,000 aged care workers a year. While skilled migration can play a role, it’s unlikely to be enough to fix the immediate or long-term workforce shortages.

Murdoch v Crikey highlights how Australia’s defamation laws protect the rich and powerful

Denis Muller, The University of Melbourne

Australia’s defamation laws have been inadequate for years - as this case starkly shows.

It’ll be impossible to replace fossil fuels with renewables by 2050, unless we cut our energy consumption

Mark Diesendorf, UNSW Sydney

Key to success will be transitioning to an ecologically sustainable economy, with greener technologies and industries.

The book that changed me: how Augustine’s Confessions has travelled with me for decades, bringing meaning and insight

Dawn LaValle Norman, Australian Catholic University

Augustine’s Confessions has become a modern classic because it feels so immediate and familiar to our current desire for self-understanding.

Complaints, missing persons, assaults – contracting outside workers in aged care increases problems

Nicole Sutton, University of Technology Sydney; Nelson Ma, University of Technology Sydney

We studied 1,709 aged care homes over five years and found increases in the use of ‘agency’ staff impacted quality of care. Ahead of the federal jobs summit, the sector faces ongoing challenges.

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