“Why I’m pushing productivity” PM
by Alan Thornhill
Australia’s rapidly ageing population will make faster productivity growth a necessity, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.
He made the declaration yesterday, in a pre-Australia Day speech, that he delivered in Melbourne.
Developing a theme he clearly means to take to the next Federal election, later this year, Mr Rudd said Australia had chalked up strong productivity growth in the time of the Hawke and Keating governments.
But that growth had eased in the time of the Howard government, Mr Rudd said.
He based much of his speech on a still to be released report, that is to be called Australia to 2050:Future Challenges.
Mr Rudd said the report, which his Treasurer Wayne Swan, will publish soon, would analyse the long term challenges Australia would face in the first half of the new Century.
He said the nation’s population would grow from its present 22 million, to 36 million by then.
Mr Rudd said, too, that in 1970, Australia had 7.5 people of working age for every person aged 65 or over.
But by 2050, there would be just 2.7 working people for every person of the present retirement age.
“Unless we make big changes, we will either generate large, unsustainable budget deficits into the second quarter of the century, or else we’ll need to reduce government services – including health services – as the needs of an ageing population become greater,” the Prime Minister said.
Australia must take decisive action to drive productivity growth forward – to improve living standards, to deliver better services while keeping the Budget on a sustainable footing, and to improve Australia’s international competitiveness.”
Mr Rudd said the Government had already begun investing in the key drivers of productivity in its first two years in office.
He said it had done that by:-
- investing in record levels of long-term nation-building economic infrastructure – more than $18 billion worth of investments, including in roads, rail and ports
- implementing an education revolution, doubling the investment in Australian schools over the next five years, and increasing overall real investment in education by over 50 per cent;
- investing in business innovation, including innovative manufacturing and helping businesses use technology to work smarter and faster wherever they are, through the high-speed National Broadband Network, and
- implementing microeconomic reforms to cut red tape for business and build a seamless national economy.
1 Comment
Profile
The Latest
23rd May
The Dow Jones index fell 1.82 points to 12,2.70
Australia to stay ahead of most:OECD
Graeme Thomson case dominates Parliament (see stories)
THE MARKETS
| All Ordinaries | 4118.800 | |||||||
| S&P 500 | 1316.63 | |||||||
| Aud To Usd | 0.9755 | |||||||
| Bhp Blt Fpo | 31.930 | |||||||
| Telstra Fpo | 3.560 | |||||||
| Cwlth Bank Fpo | 49.430 | |||||||
| Qbe Insur. Fpo | 12.290 | |||||||
| Csl Fpo | 37.190 | |||||||
News to Use
- Carbon tax not to blame for Kurri Kurri closure:PM
- Red tape slashed
- Credit ratings to be overhauled
- Australia ahead of most:OECD
- “That’s not leadership:” Swan
- Pokie reform
- Consumer confidence falls, but….
- Small business “squeezed”
- Thomson explains
- Support for Afghanistan
- The G8 gamechanger
- G8 goes for growth
- Your super? Some advice and a checklist
- Australian wages finally outstrip prices
- Watchdogs rapped over Trio collapse
Topics
- Airlines (18)
- Banking (1483)
- Business (1590)
- Communications (35)
- crime (3)
- Disaster (84)
- Economics (1590)
- Environment (76)
- Financial advice (1361)
- Health (55)
- Housing (454)
- Inflation (432)
- Insurance (66)
- Investment (1408)
- Markets (1141)
- Media (109)
- Politics (1489)
- Regulation (685)
- retirement (15)
- Rural australia (87)
- Security (14)
- Social security (157)
- Superannuation (175)
- Tax (248)
- The latest (1)
- Trade (292)
- Uncategorized (278)
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
Recent Comments
- How you pushed up home loan rates « Private Briefing – Personal … | My Blog on How you pushed up home loan rates
- Pete on Rudd government had entered “paralysis:” Gillard
- Liam Knuj on The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard’s, New Year’s Message
- Change is for the better,change is where your heart grows stronger on Family Assistance boost
- Harry on The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard’s, New Year’s Message




Alan Thornhill is a parliamentary press gallery journalist. Private Briefing is updated daily with Australian personal finance news, analysis, and commentary.
[...] “Why I’m pushing productivity” PM [...]