Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood says young people are facing a future of lower wages, increased costs and the impacts of climate breakdown without major government action to tackle major economic challenges. Source: The Guardian.
Ms Wood also urged the Government not to put new regulations on AI, claiming existing rules on fraud, safety, and discrimination are already sufficient – an argument running counter to human rights experts and unions calling for greater protections against abuse and for workers.
On the eve of the Albanese Government’s economic reform summit, with its key focus on productivity, Ms Wood yesterday addressed the National Press Club in Canberra.
She said Australia must adopt a “growth mindset” and boost productivity to solve looming problems for future generations, saying it was “the only way to sustainably lift wages and opportunities over time”.
“Overwhelmingly, young people today believe they won’t live better lives than their parents did. As chair of the Productivity Commission, I’m worried too,” Ms Wood said.
She blamed recent Australian governments for key challenges facing young people, pointing to “policy choices” for house prices growing faster than incomes, and claiming politicians have “for so long avoided the lowest cost policy choices” in dealing with climate change.
Ms Wood said productivity comes from better skills and training, new technologies and policy settings making it easier to switch jobs or run a business. The commission has, in the lead-up to the roundtable, released several major reports suggesting changes to tax settings, workforce issues and training, and technology among others.
Amid criticism of the summit before it had even been held, Treasurer Jim Chalmers maintained the exercise had already been a success, claiming it had helped focus Australians’ attention on productivity and the economic challenges faced by the Government.
Among the key issues to be discussed through the roundtable is AI. Business and tech groups have urged the Government to embrace a light-touch approach to legislating it, saying overregulation could stunt the productivity benefits associated with the new technology.
The Government is still debating how best to respond to AI, with a diversity of views among Labor voices.
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Young Australians may endure worse lives than their parents, ‘worried’ productivity chief warns (By Josh Butler, The Guardian)
