With just over a month to go until Treasurer Josh Frydenberg hands down his post-COVID-19 budget, the lobbying from industry sectors that want a piece of the stimulus pie is growing fiercer by the day.

So far, going by the talk of a “tradie-led” or “gas-fired” recovery, all indications are that the government is looking only at traditional forms of infrastructure investment. As I argued last month, this would be a mistake, when what is needed to underpin future growth in jobs and wages is a big boost to social infrastructure.