Sally and Michele’s stunning proposals recently made at the Australian Industry Group / Centre for Policy Development economic reform roundtable. They addressed key priorities such as tax reforms, artificial intelligence, four-day work weeks and a training levy to finance business employee training. The roundtable, which featured key figures including Jim Chalmers, Allegra Spender, and Ken Henry, aimed to address the pressing issue of inequity in Australia’s economy.
Those who participated in the conversations reflected a heightened sense of urgency to address economic inequities. Along the way, they illustrated the dramatic divergences of thought about what these reforms should look like. Union leaders have lifted up bold visions to transform what teaching and learning looks like. Yet stakeholder pushback makes clear that major advances are likely to take some time still.
Proposals on the Table
Throughout the roundtable, McManus and O’Neil both highlighted the push to keep up with fast-paced technological changes. Most importantly, they pointed to the changing nature of work. They called for a training levy to up-skill the workforce and called for a trial of a four-day working week.
Even McManus conceded, the training levy was met with skepticism from business stakeholders.
“I wouldn’t say that it had a lot of fans amongst business,” – Sally McManus.
The political reaction to the proposal for a shorter working week was decidedly mixed. As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently commented on the longstanding cultural bias toward in-office work.
“I think a lot of people would like to have a five-day working week,” – Anthony Albanese.
McManus noted increasing momentum to abolish negative gearing and capital gains tax breaks. This indicates that there is good willingness among key stakeholders to consider reforms that would help advance equity within the workforce.
Addressing Inequity
Allegra Spender and Ken Henry reinforced the call for urgent action on intergenerational inequality. Through their activism and personal testimony, they showed that a change is needed now more than ever. Their observations highlighted a key theme of concern shared by participants regarding the growing divide across socio-economic demographics in Australia.
McManus reinforced this sentiment, stating, “The biggest thing that people agree on is the need to address intergenerational inequality.” Participants recognize the urgent need to address inequities baked into our current economic system. Despite all the differences in approaches to a particular policy, this agreement holds firm.
Their acceptance by Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers of the need to shift government priorities is a game-changer. That translates to less emphasis on dealing with the high cost of living and more effort on increasing productivity so far this session.
Government Caution on Reforms
Despite the enthusiastic discussions around reform proposals, significant hesitance remains within the government regarding major tax changes. Prime Minister Albanese firmly stated that there are “no plans” to pursue the ACTU’s idea of a four-day working week and reiterated that “the only tax policy we’re implementing is the one we took to the election.”
Chalmers went on to echo this sentiment, underlining the need to proceed with care when seeking major tax reforms. Further, he argued, political change would be best-oriented if it was backed by real consensus from all the stakeholders involved.
McManus did not mince words in describing these limitations, yet sounded an optimistic note about the reforms that are still possible. She said, “On AI, I think it could get a little lonely.” Yet she underscored the difficulty of rallying support for technology-related initiatives.
