Event: BCA Chief Executive Bran Black and COSBOA CEO Luke Achterstraat interview with ABC News Breakfast

Speakers:

ABC News Breakfast, Hosts, James Glenday and Bridget Brennan;
Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Bran Black;
Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Luke Achterstraat

Topics: Business Debate, housing, productivity

E&OE

James Glenday, ABC News Breakfast Host: Now, of course, the Federal Election is coming towards an end, and hot on the heels of last night's Leaders Debate, the Treasurer and his Shadow Treasurer counterpart will be going head-to-head to try to sway some of the nation's business leaders on their plans for the economy. The event is organised by the Business Council and the Council of Small Business Organisations. And ahead of that debate, we are joined in the studio by their Chief Executive, Bran Black and Luke Achterstraat. Welcome to you both.

Luke Achterstraat, COSBOA CEO: Morning.

Bran Black, BCA Chief Executive: Thanks for having us on the show.

James: How hard is it to get these two in a room together and to agree to rules around a debate?

Bran: Well, they were actually very keen to do it, so we were really pleased to see that. We obviously engaged with them and with their offices with the view to putting forward a format and a model which they were comfortable with and what we're pleased with is that this is a chance for large businesses and small businesses to present their concerns but also talk about their aspirations in relation to our economy.

We need to see a stronger sense of the importance of businesses and what they deliver to Australia in terms of national prosperity, and this is an opportunity to talk about that.

James: I reckon every election I've covered, business lobby groups argue for lower taxes generally, and often changes to industrial relations laws, and they often end up disappointed, because these are difficult things to sell in a campaign. What are the sort of things you're realistically hoping for today?

Luke: Certainly, lower taxes is always a good place to start, James, red tape reduction too, we need to really get serious about removing barriers to starting a business, but also to maintaining and growing and scaling a business. You know, a lot of the great Australian success stories have started as small businesses and red tape really can be one of those key barriers.

So I think today, the unique opportunity we have with the Business Debate will be for the Treasurer and the Shadow Treasurer to hear those concerns, not just from Bran and I, but from our members, the people putting their own capital on the line, the people actually employing people themselves and I think with that direct lived experience, we'll hope to see a bit of momentum and a bit of a shift in the conversation later today.

Bridget Brennan, ABC News Breakfast Host: Bran, have you made an assessment on the two parties housing policies, some big commitments on housing, but also it seems like there hasn't been a huge debate around the infrastructure needed to grow our suburbs.

James and I have spent a bit of time on the outer suburbs, where there's very few public transport stations, there’s limited internet. What sort of policies do you want to be seeing today from the from the parties on tackling this really difficult crisis we have in Australia?

Bran: Well, look, you're absolutely right housing is such a key issue. It's one of the key issues that we raised in our pre-election documentation. And what we've said there is that there are some key levers that the federal government can pull. People often think about housing as being something that sits in the domain of the states, but the federal government can do so much. To your point, it can invest in that enabling infrastructure, so the utilities, the roads, the hospitals, the schools and so forth.

That all makes it easier for home builders to make decisions that they will invest and that they will continue to drive new housing development. We know, and I was pleased to see this last night in the Leaders Debate, we know that we are dealing with fundamentally a supply problem. There are lots of policies that have been put forward that really add to demand, but what we need to do, more than anything else, is address supply. That's so critical, because that's how we, of course, create more housing and therefore slow the growth or the acceleration of housing prices to give people a chance to get into the market.

James: Luke, this is sort of a slightly contentious question, but I wonder, would you have liked to see the Coalition take action, hold the line on working from home to try to get more people back into CBDs around the country, which of course, I mean, we've heard a lot from small businesses who would like to see more people out and about every day?

Luke: Yeah, look, I think it's about getting the balancing act right, James. Let's not forget, yes, a lot of small businesses are in the CBD, we want our CBDs to be revitalised and to be fun places to come in. But equally, we've seen a lot of small businesses say, I'm at the local strip mall, the local shopping mall, and more people at home has actually improved my custom and my trade.

James: So you don't have a set position on this policy?

Luke: Well, it's getting the balance right is our set position. I think whether that's a three-day split or a four-one day split in terms of being in the office, I think it's important that people are in the office in terms of being anchored there but at the same time, we need workplaces to decide this for themselves, that flexibility to talk to your employer and say, this is what works for me, this is what can work for the business.

We don't want any blanket bans or blanket approaches. I think work from home has been a positive thing, but equally, let's get our CBDs booming as well.

Bridget: Wage growth is the eternal tussle that we see in each term of Parliament, but it has been in the spotlight in recent years with the cost of living crisis, a lot of workers saying they need their wages to rise because they can't afford everyday essentials, businesses saying they're struggling paying additional wages. What's your position on this Bran, and what would you like to see from the Treasurer and the Shadow Treasurer today?

Bran: Well, fundamentally, if we're interested in raising wages, which we should be and we are, we have to make sure that we're invested in productivity. That's ultimately what is the greatest linkage between real wages growth and, I guess, national prosperity.

Bridget: So that means businesses making more money to be able to bring on more people and pay them a decent wage, right?

Bran: Productivity, sort of simply put, is getting more out of what you put in. It's not about making people work harder, it's about making sure that you are getting more out of more outputs, out of your inputs. So what we would say is, let's invest in those policies that we know contribute towards those type of outcomes.

We know if we're looking at policies around tax reform, industrial relations reform, making sure that our planning systems are simplified, those are all things that really help in terms of driving productivity, they're proven to do that, and productivity drives real wages growth. So in light of all the challenges that we're facing right now with global uncertainty, our changing demographics and, of course, our low productivity rate, it's now more important than ever, we would say, to put our efforts into driving those policies that were proven to do that.

James: Bran and Luke, thank you so much for coming in this morning. Thoughts and prayers, hopefully you get lots of direct, clear answers. I'm not sure that you will, but maybe I have more luck than we've been having.

Luke: It might be an Easter miracle, James.

Bridget: We hope and pray, thanks very much Bran and Luke.