Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. What role will the Jobs and Skills Summit play in addressing the challenges facing our economy and who will be involved?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I once again congratulate the fantastic member for Boothby, who joins this parliament for the first time. Before the parliament returns for the next sittings of this place, on 1 September and 2 September the Albanese Labor government will be hosting a Jobs and Skills Summit here in Canberra. This is our opportunity to bring Australians together to address the big challenges that we confront in our economy, whether it be labour shortages or skills shortages or stagnant wages. It's our opportunity to work together to create more opportunities for more people in more parts of our country.

On this side of the House we recognise that a better future relies on bringing people together, so bringing people together isn't just the aim and the guiding instinct of the Jobs and Skills Summit, it is also the aim and the guiding instinct of this government and of the Australian people that we serve. We want to ensure that there is a good, qualified worker for every business that needs one and a great, well-paid, secure job for every Australian that wants one. We want a bigger, more productive and better skilled workforce with strong and sustainable wages growth as a defining feature of our national economic success. That's why the summit will bring together workers and their unions, employers and their peak organisations, community groups, experts and other levels of government as well. And it's why this month there will be proper consultation, whether it is by portfolio or in different communities around Australia, in the lead up to the Jobs and Skills Summit. I will be doing some of that in Central Queensland next week. There is a hunger in this country for a real talk about our economic challenges, there is an appetite to work together to address them and there is a willingness in this country right now at this moment to see things through the prism of our national economic interest.

It is time for those opposite to decide whether they want to be part of the solution here or whether they want to continue to be part of the problem. Their position on this jobs summit has been characteristically confused.

Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Government Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My point of order is on relevance. You have given clear guidance as to when ministers may speak about this side of the House. The question was very tied to the Jobs and Skills Summit—what role, who will be involved. There was no reference to this side of the House.

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer is also talking about the end part of the question, about addressing problems facing the economy, so I will ask the Treasurer to return to the question.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In relation to who will be involved in the summit—on some days those opposite say they want to see the summit cancelled. On other days they say that they demand an invitation to the jobs summit. On 11 July they said both. It reminds me of what Groucho Marx said. Groucho Marx said he didn't want to be part of an organisation that would have him as a member. The member for Hume doesn't want to be part of a jobs summit that would have him as an attendee. That seems to be the member for Hume's position. Bringing an end this decade of division and dysfunction, conflict and complacency is what the summit is all about and that's what the government's all about as well.