The Labor leader wants the country to emerge from the health crisis with a stronger sense of society and use that communal spirit to shape the economic recovery.

"The pandemic has exposed another inconvenient truth: we are living in uncertain times and maybe our economy isn't as resilient as we like to think," he told the Labor caucus on Monday.

"The fact is that too much of the risk in our economy has been shifted onto those with the least capacity to manage in tougher times.

"Our economy has become riskier and we need to think through what that means for us all."

The speech comes a day before Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivers an economic statement to parliament in lieu of the budget that has been pushed back to October.

Mr Albanese is critical of the government's assumption the economy will "snap back".

And he says it shouldn't have taken a pandemic for the coalition to have come around to Labor's point of view on various policy areas.

That includes the need to lift unemployment payments, the vital role of unions, the importance of fast and reliable broadband, and the essential service provided by early childhood educators.

"Let's not snap back to insecure work, to job seekers stuck in poverty, to scientists being ignored," he said.

"We must move forward to having not just survived the pandemic, but having learned from it."

Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles doesn't believe the coalition has the imagination nor inclination to seize the opportunity on offer.

"Our political opponents come to this with dried up and sterile arguments about government getting out of the way, which is just not going to cut it in terms of taking our nation forward," he told caucus.

Labor wants to see manufacturing revived, big new infrastructure projects, and a focus on worker rights and more stable jobs.

It is also pushing for government to work with the private sector and superannuation funds to build more social and affordable housing.

Australian Associated Press