Australia is at a crucial intersection.
From a weakening economy and growing job insecurity, to the challenge of climate change and an ageing population – Australia needs a plan.
But Australia has a government that has no agenda, let alone a plan for the future.
It’s a government that is characterised by being scared of the present and terrified of the future.
So Labor is turning its focus forward – to what the Australian people need so they can build a safe, prosperous and secure future.
And we’ll be guided every step of the way by our values: Labor values.
That’s why today, I began laying down the framework that will guide the policies that Labor will take to the election.
This one focused on the very heart of Labor’s mission: jobs and the future of work.
And I wanted you to hear directly from me about how Labor can lead Australia confidently into the future.
In my speech today, I outlined the ways that Australia can prepare for the future of work, including:
Embracing a new manufacturing boom — and all the jobs that will come with it — by becoming a green energy superpower
Exporting the minerals that will fuel the clean energy economies of the future – minerals like lithium, which is used in electric cars and batteries
Beginning a new national project to repair our TAFE and training system by establishing Jobs and Skills Australia – a real, genuine partnership between unions, business, government and TAFE to make sure workers are getting the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow
Changing the culture of workplaces so unequal pay, segregation, sexual harassment and discrimination are things of the past – and that women can be seen on construction or mining sites as equally as men are seen in our places of care
Supporting Australia’s creative industries – hamstrung by cuts, lack of investment and outdated policy settings – because imagination and creativity are two of Australia’s other great renewable resources
Making sure workers in the gig economy are protected just as much as workers in more traditional industries
We know Australia can’t assume economic success is inevitable.
We can watch the tidal wave of change coming and be swept away by it – or we can protect our citizens by giving them a fair shot at a prosperous future.
But Labor doesn’t believe that Government should simply get out of the way and leave it to the market alone. We know that trickle-down economics only rains down misery on working people.
Australians can build a safe, prosperous and secure future if we establish the conditions in which their own efforts are rewarded.
In the coming decades, we need to create the conditions to prosper in our changing and dynamic world.
There is absolutely no sign that the Morrison Government even understands this challenge, let alone possesses the will to tackle it. They are complacent and have no plan.
Labor is prepared to take it on.
We know we can do this as long as we work together and present a vision for the future.
Because whatever the economic challenges we face, a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay is still a concept worth aspiring to
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