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.
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Peter Martin
Business + Economy Editor
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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.
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Michael Keating, Australian National University
The best way to increase wages is to invest in education and skills.
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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.
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Denis Muller, The University of Melbourne
Australia’s defamation laws have been inadequate for years - as this case starkly shows.
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Mark Diesendorf, UNSW Sydney
Key to success will be transitioning to an ecologically sustainable economy, with greener technologies and industries.
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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.
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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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Politics + Society
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Mario Peucker, Victoria University
The far-right claims mainstream media is the “enemy of the people” but they are happy to use mainstream platforms to spread their message.
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Alexander Plum, Auckland University of Technology; Kabir Dasgupta, Auckland University of Technology
For young New Zealand European fathers with a criminal conviction, having a son seems to have a large and persistent positive impact. What cultural and gender forces might be at work?
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Anne Tiernan, Griffith University; Gary Sturgess, Griffith University
Trust is at the heart of a well-functioning cabinet. A cabinet cannot work if ministers do not respect the fundamentals.
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Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology; Terry Burke, Swinburne University of Technology; Zoe Goodall, Swinburne University of Technology
Investing in housing means providing a home. National tenancy reforms are reshaping the role of landlords to reflect this responsibility.
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Health + Medicine
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Arosha Weerakoon, The University of Queensland
Whether it’s morning breath, rotten egg-like breath or garlic breath, here are the causes and solutions.
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Science + Technology
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Alexia Maddox, RMIT University; Jacinthe Flore, RMIT University
A survey of more than 2,000 people as Melbourne reopened after COVID lockdowns shows the pandemic and digital technology have made the city less a place of work, more a place to visit now and then.
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Chris Kirkland, Curtin University; Phil Sutton, University of Lincoln
There’s a curious 200-million-year rhythm to Earth’s crust production. Now, it seems like our very place in the galaxy is tied to it.
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Environment + Energy
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Jaelen Nicole Myers, James Cook University
I attest these rather ordinary, mud-covered stingrays are beautiful, and I never tire of watching them. Unfortunately, they are at risk of decline and localised extinctions.
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Education
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Kelly E Matthews, The University of Queensland; Jason M Lodge, The University of Queensland; Melissa Johnstone, The University of Queensland
The annual Student Experience Survey is a litmus test of student engagement, satisfaction and educational quality. But the survey’s categories of study no longer match the post-COVID experience.
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Arts + Culture
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Chari Larsson, Griffith University
Embodied Knowledge: Queensland Contemporary Art is a celebration of women, people of colour and LGBTIQA+ artists.
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