Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM, Chancellor of Macquarie University and the Chair of the Australian Climate Change Authority & Violet Roumeliotis AM, Chief Executive Officer of Settlement Services International, will Address the National Press Club of Australia on “Accelerating Productivity: Activate Australia’s skills”.
Australia has a workforce problem – and a workforce solution it’s not using.
Former Treasury Secretary Dr Martin Parkinson and Settlement Services CEO Violet Roumeliotis AM will discuss new economic modelling that reveals more than 250,000 skilled migrants are working below their qualifications, not because they lack the skills, but because our system is bureaucratic, costly and slow.
Critical roles stay unfilled while qualified engineers, teachers, nurses and psychologists are locked out of the work they’re train to do.
In this National Press Club address, they’ll argue that skills recognition reform is central to two challenges dominating Australia: lifting productivity, and building cohesive, resilient communities, where every Australian is able to contribute to their full potential.
The modelling shows the potential, tens of thousands of professionals unlocked for critical sectors, productivity gains averaging $42,580 per workers, and communities where skills migrants can contribute fully, strengthening services and the connections that hold them together.
Parkinson and Roumeliotis will lay out four clear, implementable reforms to make it happen. At a time when the Albanese Government is searching for answers on both fronts, this is one policy fix where economic inclusion drives social cohesion, and everyone wins.
BIOS
Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM is the Chancellor of Macquarie University and the Chair of the Australian Climate Change Authority. He previously served as the Secretary of the Australian treasury from March 2011 to December 2014, and as Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet from January 2016 to August 2019. Across more than three decades in public service, he has helped lead major public sector and economic reforms in Australia.
Violet Roumeliotis AM is the Chief Executive Officer of Settlement Services International, one of Australia’s largest providers of settlement and refugee services. Her non-executive roles include Deputy President of the Australian Council of Social Services board, the NSW Ageing and Disability Commission Advisory Board, the NSW Commissioner’s Modern Slavery Advisory Council, and the Domestic and Family Violence and Sexual Assault Council.
