Anthony Albanese says he will take Australia back to the kind of leadership experienced under prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating if he wins the upcoming federal election.
In a major speech to the Australian Financial Business Summit on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader will declare he is not proposing an economic revolution, but an economic renewal.
And he will say this can be done through following the lead of Mr Hawke and Mr Keating, along with ending the “climate and culture wars”.
“We must put this nation on a growth trajectory that will lift living standards and underpin prosperity in coming decades,” Mr Albanese will say.
“We must rediscover the spirit of consensus that former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke used to bring together governments, trade unions, businesses and civil society around their shared aims of growth and job creation.
“He brokered reforms that yielded benefits for all parties – not just better wages for workers, but stronger profits for businesses, along wixjmtzywth the introduction of landmark reforms adding to the social dividend, such as Medicare and universal superannuation.
“The result was three decades of continuous economic growth.
“If Labor is successful in the coming federal election, I will take my lead from Bob Hawke and his successor Paul Keating.”
Mr Albanese will say he is following Mr Hawke’s example with his election policies.
“I’ve ensured that all of our economic policies target issues that for government, business and trade unions, are shared interests,” he will say.
Mr Albanese will claim Australia has failed to move forward in the past decade.
He will single out the rise of renewable energy as an example where the nation has stood still for too long.
“I’m not proposing revolution,” he will say.
“But I am looking for renewal – renewal of the dormant national project to create wealth in a way that produces benefits for all Australians.
“We can do this.
“And the first step is to put climate and culture wars behind us and focus on what matters – the national interest.”
He will point to five different pillars in Labor’s plan.
These include investing in renewable energy, manufacturing locally, more affordable childcare and boosting skills.
It would also involve awarding contracts for major projects to Australian businesses, investing in the NBN and stopping pork barrelling.
“Labor stands ready to resume the great Australian reform project,” he will say.
