Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls for a mini summit to hold meeting with business and union leaders

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for a mini summit later in the week with representatives from the business sector, unions, community organisation as well as think tanks to focus on the current state of economy and how to bring about the long awaited reforms.

The meeting, which is expected to be held in Canberra on Thursday, will follow from a joint Fairfax Media/News Corporation National Reform Summit held in Sydney in August. Turnbull was the federal communication minister at the time of the meeting that explored myriad of ideas, like skill training, tax reform, infrastructure development and education. The then Prime Minister Tony Abbott was absent from the meeting but addressed the high standing gathering through a pre-recorded speech.

Meanwhile, Turnbull has called the meeting in the wake of the unions threatening to launch a public campaign to protest the penalty rate changes.

“I am looking forward to meeting with the summit’s leaders to hear the shared reform priorities of business, unions and the wider community,” The Guardian quoted Turnbull as saying. “Our government is focused on the opportunities arising from technological disruption and in creating an environment for strong, innovative industries to grow. I want to build on the key priorities of the summit and work towards a practical set of reforms that will help to create jobs, drive innovation and stimulate growth.”

The newly appointed Prime Minister of Australia also said the summit would be a rare opportunity for the government to address and draw a consensus on the most important economic and social issues. He noted the need for enhancing the already prosperous economy of Australia by increasing productivity, completion and innovation.

Mathias Cormann, who continues to be the finance minister after last week’s cabinet reshuffle, also added that the Turnbull government will continue with Liberal goals of small government where the focus is on recovering debt and deficit and also maintaining low public expenditure.

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