ACCPA has missed out on an invitation to the Federal Government’s Jobs and Skills Summit starting today, though organisations such as Catholic Health Australia (CHA), Uniting NSW.ACT, and sector unions will be in attendance.
CHA CEO Pat Garcia and Saviour Buhagiar, Director of Seniors Services at Uniting NSW.ACT, are among the list of attendees. ACCPA, however, has been left out of the summit, which will also include representatives from unions such as the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, United Workers Union, and Health Services Union.
ACCPA Interim CEO Paul Sadler (above) expressed his disappointment, but said the peak body is looking forward to working with the Government on measures such as professionalising the workforce and improving training and recruitment.
“Workforce, how we resolve the chronic staff shortages affecting aged care, and long-term funding remain key areas of focus for the sector.
“Although we would have preferred to have a seat at the table at the summit, ACCPA relayed its views to the Government during an aged care jobs and skills roundtable with the government last week,” he said.
Conversely, Pat Garcia (below) expressed his appreciation on behalf of CHA. The peak body for Catholic organisations manages more than 25,000 home support clients and 25,000 residential care beds.
“The invitation to the Summit is an important recognition by government of the church’s contributions in health, education, and community care.
“As part of its mission, the Catholic sector’s 3,000 organisations care for and teach hundreds of thousands of Australians every year, but also employ more than 220,000 Australians.
“This week’s summit is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that the Catholic voice is heard around the table,” he said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended the invitation process in a press conference yesterday, saying “you can’t invite everyone that you would like to invite”.
“You’ve got to make some difficult decisions when you’re putting together the invitation list. Have we got it perfectly right? Who knows? But we’ve got a good representative cross section of the Australian economy and the Australian community, and we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture here, which is trying to find some common ground about our big economic challenges,” he said.
The Jobs and Skills Summit will be held over two days, finishing tomorrow.
