While the Jobs and Skills Summit, to be hosted at Parliament House by the Albanese government from September 1, is not directly comparable in scope to Bob Hawke's 1983 National Economic Summit Conference, it is probably no coincidence this event will also be attended by about 100 delegates.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
These, as was the case with the Hawke summit, will include captains of industry, representatives from the union movement, business chambers and associations, other levels of government and "civil society" such as the Australian Council of Social Services which played an important role during the conference held at what is now Old Parliament House from April 11 to April 14, 1983.
A significant difference between the two events, for the moment at least, is that there has been no talk of inviting MPs or senators from the opposition benches and the cross benches to participate.
Mr Hawke, who had campaigned on the slogan "Bringing Australia together" had no qualms about reaching across the aisle and, when reporting to Parliament on the event on May 3, 1983, paid tribute to the spirit of bipartisanship that had prevailed.
It is notable that Mr Albanese, a former hard-left firebrand who was far from being Mr Hawke's biggest fan 39 years ago, and his Treasurer are not only borrowing from the great centrist's playbook but also singing from the same song sheets.
Compare the pair. In 1983 Mr Hawke said: "Effective policy cannot be made in a vacuum. The conference made a very substantial contribution to filling that vacuum, to bringing out clearly the economic and social realities which must form the context for government decisions. We are all now better equipped".
On Monday Dr Chalmers said: "It's [the jobs and skills summit] about picking the brains of people around Australia including at the summit to make sure that we all have ideas together ... we owe it to the Australian people to try and find the common ground so that we can reach the common objectives together".
While, on the face of it, the biggest difference between the two events is that Mr Albanese's is firmly focussed on jobs, productivity, wages growth and addressing the skills shortage rather than the economy in its entirety, that is actually a nave over-simplification.
It ignores the fact this gathering has a very broad remit touching on everything from boosting local manufacturing, responding to climate change, investing in renewable energy, creating pathways to employment for the most disadvantaged in the community, bridging the gender pay gap and rebooting the enterprise bargaining process.
There is, as was the case 39 years ago, a real opportunity to leverage a national crisis into major structural reforms that will shape how Australians live and work for decades to come.
For that to occur however, hardline ideologies and partisan interests need to be parked at the door.
It is unfortunate, and potentially damaging, that although the trade unions and business are willing to sit down and break bread together, the newly minted opposition, which is either blind to the opportunities on offer or just being contrary for the sake of it, views the process with disdain.
Sussan Ley's dismissal of the summit as "a Labor talkfest with whiteboards and post-it notes [that] will be a boon for small stationery shops - and that's about it" goes a long way to explaining why the LNP is no longer in government.
It was unhelpful and did her no credit.
Those who are not prepared to help make history often end up getting run over by it.
It's called the karma bus.
