Planning boards

It seems like the Planning Minister is trying to make the large projects approval system more democratic and transparent. Instead of approving such projects herself, the Planning Minister is now devolving that power to regional boards. Great. The only problem is that the minister will appoint a majority of members on each board. Instead of decisions being made by an elected politician, they will now be made by faceless bureaucrats, non-elected non-experts or, it is possible, Labor party donors and development industry supporters. The minister can then praise these regional boards when good decisions are made, yet distance herself when politically controversial developments are approved.

Training schemes for youth

Kevin Rudd's latest scheme to cut welfare payments to unemployed youth who do not take up education or training places when out of work may seem a clever way to massage youth unemployment figures, but it is fundamentally a good scheme. With the level of unemployment predicted to rise so high in this recession, it will be vital to ensure that the skills of those who are unemployed do not lapse behind what the labour market is likely to demand in a recovery, and that existing skills do not deteriorate from lack of use.

It will be vital, however, that the government ensures there are sufficient training places available for those who will have their youth allowance cut off, and in the areas where these youth live. It is also essential that general skills are taught alongside occupation-specific skills to ensure that the workforce remains flexible. Decisions will have to be made about which skills will be in demand in the future, but it workers must also be able to adapt should labour demand evolve if the predictions of skills demands are off.

Nevertheless, the strong focus on education and training is good for Australia in the long-term. More productive workers and a more highly educated workforce leads to more people being employed in 'good' jobs and higher wages once the economy is back to normal.