Topics:  Jobs and Skills Summit, labour shortages, COVID isolation changes

E&OE 

GREG JENNETT:

Angus Taylor welcome back to Afternoon Briefing. You’ve laid down a six-point test by which the Jobs and Skills Summit can be assessed. Already today, we have had quicker delivery of HECS- free TAFE places, 180,000 of them and an agreement between the ACTU and the Business Council on principles to reform enterprise bargaining. There's a very real likelihood, isn’t there, that the Government is going to meet and pass your test?

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well let's see Greg. What we saw today was an agreement on principle, that’s a long way from tangible action. The test here is whether Labor is going to deliver tangible outcomes that makes the lives of Australians better. That means real wages and productivity. They have focused a lot on that, but they have reduced their forecast so there will be, in their expectation, no material gain in real wages in this term of government, will they fix that? Labor shortages of course are chronic right now and they aren't things you can work on in a year, it needs to be right now. We have made practical suggestions about getting aged pensioners and veterans into the work force or increasing their hours of work, with strong incentives because they won't lose their pension. These are things Labor can do right now, they don’t have to wait, there doesn't need to be a white paper, there doesn't need to be principles, they can just get on with it and deal with the cost of living and inflationary pressures Australians have got in front of them today. These are things Labor can deal with as we speak and tangible actions they can take. Principles are all well and good, but we need far more than that, we need tangible actions. 

GREG JENNET:

Well, I note that Jim Chalmers, has not for the first time, left wide open the question of extra work hours for pensioners. He did that this morning, let's see what they have up their sleeve on that for tomorrow. Can I take you to migration though, Angus Taylor, there does appear to be some broad consensus emerging around an increase from 160,000. Would 200,000 or 220,000 sound about right to you? 

ANGUS TAYLOR:

It's all well and good to speculate on the number, Greg, but you have got to know how many Australians we can get into the workforce and that’s why this policy that we have announced, getting more pensioners, aged pensioners and veterans into the work force, and working more hours because they won't lose their pension. 

Right now, they lose fifty cents in the dollar of their pension as their work level goes up. This is a huge disincentive to do more work and yet there are small businesses crying out for people to come and work in their businesses. They can do this now, you don’t know how many immigrants you need until you know how many Australians you can get into the workforce and our first priority should be getting Australians into the work force or increasing their work hours if they choose to do it if the incentives are right. So we have got to get this the right way round, and so these tangible actions that Labor can take right now to support small businesses, who by the way, there is not a single small business owner representing their own business at the job skills conference today. These are the solutions that Australians are looking for on the ground. 

GREG JENNET:
I note the criticism that your side has made about the composition of the invitee list for the Summit. Enterprise bargaining agreements are going to be in the mix around discussions here, we have a real-life example in New South Wales, don’t we, your home state, with rail industrial action crippling the city of Sydney. Do you support approaches by employers, in this case the Perrottet Government to rip up EBA agreements and offers, if they are subject to unlawful or unwarranted industrial action?

ANGUS TAYLOR:
Well, I‘ll leave that specific case to the New South Wales Government, but what I will say though Greg, is that enterprise bargaining is enormously important, and we want it strengthened not weakened. We have put forward legislation to the Parliament to do exactly that whilst we were in government. This was rejected by Labor. There is talk now of resuscitating a focus on streamlining enterprise bargaining and making it more attractive for employers, but we don’t know what the paymasters, the unions are asking for in return. We simply do not know. We have got principles, but no details. We do want to see the strengthening of enterprise bargaining and we will obviously support that as we did in the last Parliament. Labor is the one who has rejected that in the past, but until we know some of the details it is very hard to comment beyond that.

GREG JENNET:
Yeah, I agree, we have only got statements of principle so far and further developments are awaited over the next day or so. Also, on COVID isolation, since we are talking about worker shortages Angus Taylor, there has been this decision by National Cabinet to reduce [isolation], from 7 to 5 days for most people. Do you think we are approaching that time or will have approached that time by the end of this month when all mandates for isolation should be removed?

ANGUS TAYLOR: 
There is no question that this needs to be looked at very closely Greg, I mean the truth is people like getting on with their lives and so they should, that is what we want to see. Opening up again, dealing with this as best as we can in an emergency pandemic, that’s absolutely the right way to be going, so we very much welcome the reduction to five days. However, the lifting of restrictions needs to continue, we need to get on with things and we need every person who can be in the work force, who wants to be, every day and that’s enormously important. There is nothing I hear more about from employers, particularly small businesses, than that. They are the tangible outcomes that Australians are looking for. The butchers paper and post-it notes in Canberra are all well and good but it's those tangible actions that Australians really want to see right now Greg, and we will certainly support any actions along those lines.

GREG JENNET:
Ok, I take it an associated measure at that point when we get there, would be the complete removal of pandemic leave payments. Do we take that as read, is that your position?

ANGUS TAYLOR:
Without going into all the specifics, because they will come out piece by piece, we want to get back to normality as quickly as we can, it is incredibly important. The extent to we don’t, Greg, the price we pay is ongoing inflation and rising interest rates. We know that supply restrictions are having an impact there and the risk is that it becomes imbedded, and we see enormous pain on our mortgage holders, our households who purchased a home, particularly in recent times and are carrying a big mortgage, they’ll wear more pain if we don't free up our restrictions, so we do want to see that freeing up continue, its enormously important.

GREG JENNET:
Alright, you’ve got business to go about there in Lismore. Angus Taylor, we have got a jobs and skills summit to watch so we’ll thank you and farewell you. Talk Soon