Yesterday’s NSW budget from Treasurer Matt Kean will — if its reforms are bedded down in coming years — prove to be one of the most important economic and social reform documents at any level of government in Australia for some time.
A lot of coverage of the budget focused on its spending, given there’s an election due next March and the need for the NSW Liberals to differentiate their product radically from the Morrison government on gender issues. And all of that’s fair enough.
But the centring of economic and fiscal policy on women’s economic opportunity is unprecedented. Kean’s budget is a first, substantial step to a state where impediments to full female economic participation have been minimised as much as possible, the gender pay gap is finally closed, and women feel safer both in the workplace and society generally.
Much of that involves much greater health spending — again, spending with an obvious political imperative — which has been a key driver of the greater female workforce participation we’ve seen in the past five years.
Economic and fiscal policymaking in Australia has traditionally been dominated by male industries. Mining and extractive industry companies are highly effective at capturing governments. Manufacturing retains a special aura for all politicians as some sort of innate good. Construction is a popular go-to for stimulus programs. The heavily male-dominated tech sector has a glamour deeply attractive to politicians who want to appear visionary.
But female economic participation has only been seen through the lens of equity, of gender fairness.
Now there’s a major jurisdiction that understands it’s about good economics as much as about equity, that it’s a must-do, not a should-do, and that our economy and the workforce has been changing rapidly whether we want it or not. Over the past 40 years we’ve been transforming into a service economy; now we’re heading towards a caring economy, where health, care and education — all heavily feminised sectors — might form 25-30% of the workforce in coming decades.
In taking a leadership role, NSW has challenged the rest of Australia. It isn’t merely NSW that needs higher female participation and greater female economic empowerment, including Indigenous women, women with disabilities and women from non-English-speaking backgrounds. It’s the whole country.
The budget comparison yesterday wasn’t just with the last Morrison government budget, with its crass and futile political spending, but with a bland, by-the-numbers Queensland budget, notable only for its sensible increase in coalmining royalties (something Kean chose not to do).
The most obvious government to meet the challenge is Anthony Albanese’s, and Kean’s expansion of childcare will complement the expansion in subsidies planned by Labor. But surely the ultimate goal is a universal full subsidy (or near to full, such as the 95% subsidy proposed by the Grattan Institute) for childcare.
Albanese’s commitment to add gender pay equity to the Fair Work Commission Act, address it in the Commonwealth public service and improve transparency around gender pay gap reporting are also in tune with Kean’s activism on that issue.
But what the NSW government has ultimately done is take an issue traditionally seen through equity, social and cultural lenses — and thus prone to being dismissed as at best a nice add-on to policy when the more important stuff has been done — and place it not merely under the heading of “economic reform” but put it at the top of the list.
NSW hasn’t merely embarked on significant reform. It’s corrected and expanded our understanding of what reform should mean.
All good stuff. Then they corruptly appoint Pork Barrillaro to a plumb job a Trade representative in New York.
Well at least Perrotet, on ABC Radio National Breakfast this morning, promised he would look into the way that appointment was handled to see if it was all above board and take appropriate action if anything’s wrong. So that’s all right. I’m sure we are all confident about the outcome of that little inquiry. In fact we could save Perrotet the trouble and tell him we already know exactly what he will say he found.
Smells like the pinnacle of corruption to me. For a sleazy blob to arrange himself a half million dollar job that doesn’t even need to exist just blows my mind.
How could this happen in such a ‘peerless(?)’* Coalition state government, with ‘St Matthew the Klean’ playing Treasurer?
(* if one went by Bernard’s previous ‘reviews’)
He’s desperate to find a successor to his true love, Goldstandard Gladys.
“Manufacturing retains a special aura for all politicians as some sort of innate good”.
Here we go again! More Liberal lauding by BK. I can’t believe this rubbish. This government, this rotten, corrupt, rank, venal Liberal NSW Govt which has had more than a whiff of corruption if not blatant self-serving surrounding it, has what…? Suddenly discovered the importance of women, of childcare, of education, of health care…How? It has cut back funding to services directed towards these areas and, consequently, for the people working in these areas or subject to them.
Manufacturing is very important and I don’t believe in the above quoted statement I selected is being afforded due prominence, especially in this and in the context of this up-coming State election. If this was the case we would still have Holden and Ford. In Sydney we had a Holden plant in Pagewood and a Ford plant at Homebush – both assembling cars. And this is just what I know of. I think manufacturing has been an anathema for politicians of all kinds but historically conservative ones because they wanted protection abolished so we could have access to cheaper foreign cars like the premium quality Mercedes and Mazzaratis. The conservative answer to problems and issues in manufacturing, and for 13 years Labor’s answer as well, was to import everything. Politicians just think they get kudos in being associated with hard work and an honest day’s labour – something most have never done in their lives.
I cannot see any connection between the phrase you quote and the paragraph following. Your second paragraph fails to see the wood for the trees. Our politicians certainly do make a fetish of manufacturing jobs over other jobs, and the instances where they discontinue huge and reckless subsidies to unviable businesses in no way change that conclusion; the fact such subsidies ever existed just adds support to Keane’s point.
Then you know nothing about manufacturing and nothing really about work. All countries which have manufacturing and all countries since the industrial revolutions have had protection. There is not a single country that doesn’t have it in some form. What is unviable business is open to conjecture, particularly now that so many of these manufacturing jobs and businesses were absent during the pandemic. We had to import everything for a long time – all PPE, medical supplies and equipment and all our vaccines until we got some astrazenica up and running and some other businesses to take up the slack. That is a lot of work that our manufacturing if we hadn’t offshored so many, could have filled the breach in earlier while we were waiting for imported supplies.
We don’t manufacture a single car in this country now and the waiting time for a small hybrid car is 6 months. We got ours in 4. For larger cars from sedan to SUVs it is 12-18 months. When we could be making them here available in a matter of weeks.
If so much manufacturing is “unviable” perhaps you could see how long your shoes, boots or clothes or, yes, even your cars which are made overseas in a 3rd World country last before they are disposed of or see how long we have to wait for something as basic as surgical gloves and face masks before they are needed and people’s lives put a risk.
I don’t believe politicians value manufacturing for the reasons I said in my first piece. Actions speak louder than photo ops.
Unviable. Surf lifesavers are unviable if everyone could swim to athlete level. WE wouldn’t need a Rural Fire Brigade if we all either behaved ourselves or eschewed weekend bush bashes and barbeques. We wouldn’t need cleaners if we all cleaned up after ourselves. We wouldn’t need lung, heart and kidney surgeons if we all stopped drinking and smoking. The fact is we as a society and an economy have short comings. We fail occasionally as people, as individuals and as a society. We need people and industries which are seen as secondary, dormant even occasionally unnecessary to help pick up the pieces and come to the rescue.
“The budget comparison yesterday wasn’t just with the last Morrison government budget, with its crass and futile political spending, but with a bland, by-the-numbers Queensland budget, notable only for its sensible increase in coalmining royalties (something Kean chose not to do).”
What is wrong with a bland, by-the-numbers budget? I think the QLD budget is better as it generates an increased revenue stream and this NSW govt is beholden to the fossil fuel sector. It is their friend, not their adversary. I prefer QLD’s budget. At least their revenue is guaranteed. Unlike the “promises” made by this rotten, evil State government which has gutted schools, hospitals, mental health and public transport over the last 11 years.
The Penrith Mental Health Unit has had 19 people off work on sick leave and workers compensation through staff being assaulted by mental health patients, I bet no one, least of all you Bernard, have the slightest, inkling or knowledge of what it takes to work in the health field, to work in a field that no one wants to touch, to work for a government and organisation – State Health – that doesn’t value or respect its staff, that tries to push staff out who present a problem. Staff have died at the hands of mental health patients. Violent mental health patients are not able to be secluded all the time and can present dangers to other patients and staff. Staff have to watch them every 20 minutes if they are sleeping to see that they don’t hang themselves. You at Crikey wouldn’t know, with your wonkish political nuances, what this takes and the years of training it takes to work in a hospital. You should be ashamed of yourself with thousands of well deserving teachers and nurses taking industrial action to get something more than the insulting, spiteful, nasty, hurtful 3% wage rise promised by this “great”, “reformist” Liberal government which you laud to the heavens.
You need to get out more.
“The NSW govt is beholden to the fossil fuel sector”.
Sure, yet NSW has actually legislated to replace all coal-fired capacity by 2030 while the QLD Govt is yet to develop any meaningful energy transition policy and address the elephant in the room around when their publicly owned coal-fired assets will be retired. QLD Labor are virtually indistinguishable from the Federal Coalition/LNP when it comes to expressing unwavering support for the coal industry at every step. Have never heard the Palaszczuk Govt countenance on any level the need for a structural transition away from fossil fuels.
You make a lot of lofty claims Guru but most of them seem to be just that.
Yes, how are they going to transition these coal fired generators to renewables? Where are the plans for solar farms, wind farms? Snowy 2.0 is not going to be up and running till 2028. They are merely riding on the new Federal government’s shirt tails and now with their plans to abolish Stamp Duty, want the Feds to pay for everything. I have no illusions about the QLD govt and its attachment to coal fired and gas fired power and export dollars but the subject here is NSW and its recent budget which is all about getting in next year. The State Govt has only recently made these plans to phase GHG emitting energy out by 2030 because the Federal Liberals have been exterminated and not just by Labor but by “Independents” in former safe Liberal seats. Take it from me, they are petrified. You can’t trust Liberals, especially NSW ones. In fact, don’t trust a New South Welshman period. Safer that way. Ha!
I don’t trust Liberals and will never vote for them.
But you couldn’t have demonstrated your ignorance of current NSW energy policy any better than you just have.
Wait and see. Everyone was applauding Turnbull’s “pumped hydro”, you know, Snowy 2.0, which won’t come into operation until 2028 and which has issues.
“…we’re heading towards a caring economy, where health, care and education — all heavily feminised sectors…”
Yes, employment in those sectors is heavily skewed towards women. In other employment sectors where men are the majority much is said about the desirability of increasing female participation and various measures are taken, seldom with conspicuous success, to achieve that. So what should be done to get more men employed in sectors where women are currently very much in the majority? Or is that not how things work?
Pretty straightforward………
…….men won’t work for the money that’s on offer in those sectors.
(So why should women?)
Exactly. That’s one of the best arguments for seeking increased male participation. If more men were working in these sectors it would be likely to greatly improve the conditions for all the employees.
“Now there’s a major jurisdiction that understands it’s about good economics as much as about equity,…”
A major jurisdiction?? What is that? I think this is just another example of Bernard’s empty wordiness. I think he mean constituency. Women’s voter base. Read: “the teals”. Independents. You know… the one’s that almost got Gladie’s seat.
And again, so we have the very, very belated recognition of women’s importance to the economy. Like they haven’t been important to the economy since the dawn of civilisation! This analysis by both you at Crikey and in the SMH is sickening and pathetic. You have given this disgusting Liberal government a free pass on just about everything, a government which I think is even worse than the Morrison one which served only less than 9 years unlike this State Government which is going to serve 12 years as of March 2023. And if they are elected they will serve at least another 4 years, they are hiding all the bad news till after next year’s election, more low pay rises for their employees – cops, teachers, firies, nurses, childcare and health care workers, train and bus drivers, etc., more privatisations, newly introduced cutbacks to teaching, TAFE, and wherever else they can find it. I will tell you all at Crikey and to you BK if you are reading, I live in the Hawkesbury in NW Sydney and there is not one State High School here that teaches Modern History at Year 11 and 12 level. I don’t think that you care but let me also tell you that this is a very poor way to recognise your nation’s achievements to leave it to people to make up their own history, to do what the conservatives do and tell themselves lies and print propaganda. This is what happens when you have no one teaching you Modern History. You can have all the childcare workers you want, all the IT and other tech workers, enough to sink several Titanics, all the road workers you want (great! More toll roads), all the tradies you need for several continents (better open up the floodgates to immigration again for more land releases and high density city student housing to soak ’em all up), all the gig economy workers in the world serving you drinks, driving warmed up (barely) pizza around town in their scooters – but if you have no one teaching your children History, you will have no one ready to serve and understand the community, to serve the country in time of need, to move forward on issues of First Nations Justice, to understand foreign policy and the repeated and numerous mistakes made in this field, you will have no one to problem solve or research your children’s school projects properly or solve problems generally, to understand where your neighbours are going with foreign aid and foreign policy. And more. Yet this government have derided everyone with an Arts/Humanities Degree, anyone who can add 2 plus 2, anyone who can thing for themselves. They only want people to work with their hands yet when these same people can’t succeed at this task, and there are very many, more than most people realise, they often work in the public service and if they are lacking in education at a higher level, they are prone to corruption or other improper workplace practices. You need educated and honest and moral people in our public services and government agencies.
This State Govt is the flipside to the Morrison Govt of yesterday. It is the civic version of Laos to the situation in Vietnam if I can draw parallels, and it may soon, if the Liberals win next year, end up with NSW as Australia’s Cambodia – a total disaster.
I will get back on the hospital situation and I know Labor had disasters there – Camden and Campbelltown anybody?!
But don’t be fooled by this State Government and it’s supposed consideration of women. Many changes won’t be effective for many years, they may not be much use, childcare is more federal than State, the NSW Govt cannot guarantee a safe workplace, availability of childcare and kindy care is contingent on multiple factors systemic and personal and not everyone can or will be available to avail themselves of it if it comes at all.
No, it’s a jurisdiction. NSW makes and enforces its own state laws. That makes NSW a jurisdiction. Really, this stuff is not difficult, and you are trying far too hard to find things to pick on.
Not at all. This stuff from BK is like shooting fish in a barrel. I still am not sure it is about NSW. Why didn’t he say NSW? Why mask his commentary and narrative with an obscure reference?
Obscure reference?! LOL!
The article begins: “Yesterday’s NSW budget from Treasurer Matt Kean…”
How is it hard to tell it’s about NSW? And its a budget, which is more or less the most most crucial bill of legislation any government regularly puts to parliament, so there’s nothing remotely odd about mentioning a jurisdiction. It’s entirely appropriate and relevant. Stop blaming others for your lack of comprehension.
No I am not stupid. Jurisdiction in this context is obscure. Why not just say, the State of NSW? Jurisdiction? Give me a break. The sentence was overly long for a piece of journalism. Th thread ranged over several topics and subjects and proponents. It is hard to tell which is which and who is who. Read it yourself. Jurisdiction is preceded by the adjective “major”. This is even more confusing. I am still not sure. Is it the Government of NSW or the State of NSW? I believe it is deliberately made to be obscure and overblown and vague. Just say the NSW Government then. Not a “major jurisdiction” which make it sound like this is a world breaking event, a place or entity of great importance, when all it is, is a grubby government of rent seeking low lifes who through the stupidity of the electorate, head the government of the State of NSW and have run it into the ground.
Maybe you are, as you claim, ‘not stupid’, but you are working awfully hard to disguise it, and anyway, ‘Nemo judex in causa sua’.
The article is clear on first reading to anyone with a reasonable grasp of modern English, and your problems with it seem to be much less a matter of Keane’s grammar and vocabulary and far more your struggle to see through the red mist that is blinding you.
Wish I could get you but I dropped out of Latin in Year 11 first term. These sentences are too long for a journalism piece. My point. They are more at home in a university seminar.