Associations reveal election win expectations

The three major associations representing people in the printing industry, PIAA, Ai Group, and the Real Media Collective, have congratulated the Coalition on its win, while revealing different wishes for the upcoming term of the Morrison Government.

The Ai Group has called for the Government to develop credible and well integrated climate and energy policies, saying a patchwork approach will only see increased energy costs, while failing to meet emission reduction targets. It has also called for an increase in productivity, and a fresh look at the administration of enterprise bargaining agreements.

The PIAA has given a priority checklist of goals it is working to achieve with the Government, including: Increasing the definition of Small Business Employer from 15 to 25 employees, secure funding for apprenticeships and traineeships in print, and secure, stable, reliable, and cheap energy for industry.

Andrew Macaulay, CEO, PIAA, says, “We look forward to continued open dialogue and to further strengthen our working relationship with both the Government and the Opposition. We want to work with the government and the Parliament to make Australia the best place in the world to do business, so Australians can have the jobs, living standards and opportunities to which they aspire.”

On the subject of apprenticeships and traineeships, the PIAA has been working closely with the AMWU, having recently started up a precursor to the return of TAFE print training in SA, through Skilling SA.

With the Government holding a majority in the Lower House and crossbenchers able to provide support in the Senate, there are passages for legislation to be passed without the support of the Opposition, or their more pronounced idealogical opponents, the Greens, which hold a sizeable nine seats in the Senate.

Kellie Northwood, CEO, The Real Media Collective, says, “The Collective takes a bipartisan approach to our lobbying efforts, however the election result appears to be providing a majority Government in the Lower House and room for concession support in the Senate.

“Regardless of which side of politics you stand, this majority structure provides greater opportunity to pass legislative outcomes and keep the country moving forward. This provides industry better opportunity to engage Government with a stronger focus and achieve defined outcomes.”

Innes Willox, chief executive, Ai Group, says, "The narrow win will require extensive horse-trading and we would urge all concerned to work together for durable outcomes to deliver widespread benefits and greater investment certainty for business.

"While there was little talk of productivity during the campaign, an ambition to lift our weak productivity performance should be set right at the top of the national agenda. To achieve this, we need to better coordinate the efforts of state, territory and federal governments; we need to overcome some of the entrenched interests that characterise our education sector; we need to develop more creative approaches to industry development; and we need to build consensus over progressing the design of our taxation systems. We also need to refresh our stagnant administration of enterprise bargaining arrangements and find ways to inject life into bargaining over workplace productivity.

“Our thanks go to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his team for the consultative approach they provided in the lead-up to the election. All put in a tremendous effort to return to government. While we differed on a number of policy fronts, the opposition should be congratulated for putting forward such a detailed policy agenda.”

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