On Thursday morning, a who’s who of Australian political, corporate, and union leaders flocked to Canberra for Anthony Albanese’s much anticipated Jobs and Skills conference.
Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas, Andrew Forrest, Chairman of Fortescue Metals, and Dylan Alcott, Australian of the Year, were among the 140 guests seated in Parliament House’s Great Hall.
The summit gave Australia’s state premiers a front-row seat to discuss a variety of economic issues, including the country’s labour shortages and slow wage growth.
The Minderoo Foundation co-founder Mr. Forrest utilised the conference to promote the hiring of more women.
He referred to female employees as the “unsung giants” of Australian labour and said that his firm will make a “big campaign” to hire more women.
Mr. Alcott urged business executives to consider hiring individuals with disabilities while looking for a market to fill Australia’s acute labour shortfall.
He stated, “There are so many possibilities to go out there and work right now, but it doesn’t really translate into individuals with handicap receiving that opportunity.”
“We need to be given the chance to go out there and try,”
Mr. Joyce, the under-fire Qantas CEO, attended the event despite growing criticism of his airline.
Mr. Joyce was situated towards the summit’s rear. Following the airline’s outsourcing of thousands of jobs for baggage handlers, union representatives and former Qantas employees said his attendance at the ceremony “totally undermines” its intended goals.
Alan Joyce’s involvement tomorrow should be confined to describing how Qantas has taken the lead in stealing billions in public support and breaching the law, according to Michael Kaine, national secretary of the Transport Workers Union.
Scott Farquhar, a millionaire co-CEO of a Sydney-based digital company, was also invited to the summit and has committed to hiring 1,000 tech workers in Australia and New Zealand over the course of the next year.
Whether they come from a large bank, a software business, or from individuals who haven’t worked in the technology field, he added, “We want to locate experienced people in Australia.”
Mike Cannon-Brookes and Mr. Farquhar founded the IT behemoth Atlassian together.
Along with Sally McManus of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Michele O’Neil of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott talked with media outside the summit.
In an emotional address, Ms. McManus said that although many firms brag “quite good profits,” regular Australians are “experiencing the greatest real pay decrease in history.”
“Australians of the future would not elect such for themselves or the next generation.” They see the injustice, and I believe we can do much better, she added.
“The system of collective bargaining has to be updated.” We need a system that moves salaries forward and is easy to use, fair, and accessible.
David Littleproud, the leader of the Nationals Party, was seated next to Allan Dale, a professor at James Cook University, and Alison Barnes, a representative of the National Tertiary Education Union.
Mr. Littleproud, who was seated at the rear of the room, was one of just a few Coalition members to accept an invitation to the summit.
Alongside Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Mr. Albanese was seated at the front of the summit.
The prime minister and treasury warned company owners not to “dig deeper ditches on the same old battlefields” as they opened the summit.
Bringing people together to address the major issues in our economy and society is the main goal of this summit, this prime minister, this administration, and I believe this whole nation, according to Mr. Chalmers.
At the head of the summit were Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right), Treasurer Jim Chalmers (centre), and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.
Anthony Pratt, CEO of the recycling and packaging business Visy, was another rich Australian who attended the meeting.
The second-richest person in Australia, Mr. Pratt, was situated in the rear row.
He is one of 52 business leaders that represent thousands of Australian companies at the summit.
Anthony Pratt, CEO of the recycling and packaging business Visy and the second-richest person in Australia, sat in the rear of the summit.
Christine Holgate, the current CEO of Toll and a former CEO of Australia Post, was also present at the summit.
Last week, Ms. Holgate made the shocking accusation that Scott Morrison’s secret ministry appointments influenced the investigation that led to her termination from Australia Post for purchasing pricey Cater watches for executives.
She claimed that the finance department was in charge of an impartial inquiry that was meant to be conducted into her circumstances.
‘We now learn that Mr. Morrison served as the finance department’s minister throughout that review. I don’t think it sounds particularly autonomous.