Premier Peter Malinauskas’s plan for National Press Club address in Canberra

In a major national speech, Premier Peter Malinauskas is expected to urge a new way to look at the economic agenda – but he could be overshadowed by the Prime Minister.

South Australia has been at the forefront of economic transformation and can be a crucible for lifting living standards through education reforms, Premier Peter Malinauskas is expected to say in a major national speech on Wednesday.

It is understood Mr Malinauskas will use the National Press Club address to urge long-term policies for reform, particularly repeating his state election argument for education to be used as an economic policy lever.

However, his Canberra speech is at risk of being overshadowed if Prime Minister Scott Morrison pulls the federal election trigger on Wednesday and names May 14 as the poll date, as some have speculated.

This will result in comparisons between Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Mr Malinauskas. Some commentators have argued the latter would make a better federal ALP leader – the Premier is expected to deflect these suggestions.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas will address the National Press Club on Wednesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Mr Malinauskas is likely to urge the national economic agenda be viewed through a different lens, particularly targeted at lifting wages through productivity improvements.

He is expected to repeat Labor’s push that this can be achieved through skills training and education reforms, including to childcare, to become a long-term investment in boosting qualifications and living standards.

Children aged three would be able to go to preschools with extended operating times in a proposal Labor took to the March 19 state election, which it won in a landslide.

Cost, accessibility and quality of outside school hours care would also be addressed in a major restructure of early childhood education.

The 2017 closure of Holden’s Elizabeth plant and other blows to SA’s economy are examples of the international challenges posed by automation and technological change, Mr Malinauskas likely will argue.

He is expected to echo an agenda-setting interview with The Advertiser last May, in which the ALP leader staked a claim for middle-class voters and pointedly snubbed “culture warriors” as he outlined plans to change Labor.

Mr Malinauskas declared the ALP had to focus first on creating jobs, then important causes like health and education.

He said a focus on social issues should not be “at the expense of the economy and people being able to provide for themselves and their families”.

“That has to be the core focus. In my humble opinion, when people make an assessment about who should govern the state and govern the country they legitimately ask who is best placed to provide decent working jobs for their family,” he told The Advertiser.

Originally published as Premier Peter Malinauskas’s plan for National Press Club address in Canberra