Government talkfest needs to spark action

Stephen Withers
Friday, 12 December 2008 10:49

Opinion and Analysis

Here's another good one: the Council "Agreed that ICT capability issues continue to be addressed by the Council."

Yes, ICT capability is very important - but there was no apparent mention of ensuring the development of local capability by actually employing people instead of outsourcing to companies that either take the work offshore or put it in the hands of substantially expatriate labour in Australia.

And the Council merely agreed that it "could" address the issue of "skills shortages and the disconnect between skill demand and supply".

Come on! How long have we been talking about this?

When the market fails, governments have to step in - just as we've seen in the banking and child care industries.

And the market has consistently failed to provide the right sort of training for its employees, resulting in skills shortages along with under- and unemployed older workers.

So, Senator Conroy and company, kindly adopt the words of an Elvis song as your motto: "A little less conversation, a little more action please!"

Or instead the electorate may be singing "You ain't nothing but a hound dog."