Hawke’s desire for consensus – in this case, between workers and companies – came to the fore and would remain so during his tenure.
The unions realized the madness of continued demands for large wage increases well ahead of inflation. Business groups eventually agreed that they could no longer support the closed Australian economy of the period.
Issues around productivity and taxes began at the conference, which resonated throughout the rest of the decade.
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Three decades later, most of the economic problems Australia faces are different. The nation has almost run out of spare workers and inflation is forcing the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates. But a problem in the early 1980s – low productivity growth – has returned.
One of the key promises of the Albanian election campaign was to govern the Coalition differently. More work together, less matching of opponents.
He has played it on the international stage for the past few weeks. He is now looking to do so on an economic platform.
Unlike Hawke, however, the summit parameters are relatively narrow. “Keeping unemployment down and increasing productivity” should be the main activity of the government.
A protester attending the 1983 Economic Summit. Credit: Fairfax Photographic
In other areas, it has expanded. Focusing on jobs in renewable energy and ensuring that women have “equal opportunities and equal pay” reflects how the country has changed since 1983.
Hawke assembled a disparate group for his summit. Controversial union leader Norm Gallagher shared space with industry captains such as Rod Carnegie and Peter Abeles.
Albanese is reducing its summit to about 100 people. If the Albanian summit is to be successful, given the political failures of the last decade, different voices need to be cast, while concessions will have to be made by those who have had the ear of recent governments.
The new government must bring these views together on a political agenda. And then turn that agenda into a reform.
The Hawke summit ended with a round of applause from just one person, Queensland Prime Minister Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who declined to endorse his statement. If Albanese could come out with one angry voice at the end of their meeting, it would be a small miracle.
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