Funds have been allocated to increase apprenticeship opportunities. As an employer in its own right, the Government seems finally to be reaching the end of its savage downsizing cycle. Less than 5000 public service jobs will go this year. All calm on the wages front Wages will grow by 3.75 per cent this year - down from an estimated 4.25 per cent in the current year. With inflation forecast at 2 per cent, real incomes will rise by more than 1 per cent.
Outcomes are likely to vary considerably, however, between different forms of bargaining.
No changes have been made to the nation's superannuation rules and tax laws. This will allow some consolidation after the shocks of recent years which have severely undermined confidence in the system. Together with the Government's acceptance of salary sacrificing arrangements for its own staff, this may have some modest positive effects on the level of funds directed to superannuation and on household saving. However this would do little to address what could soon become a significant issue for the Australian economy. The Reserve Bank last week issued a disturbing assessment of our national savings performance.