Event: BCA Chief Executive Bran Black interview with Ashleigh Gillon, Afternoon Agenda, Sky News

Speakers: Afternoon Agenda, Host Ashleigh Gillon; Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Bran Black

Date: 12 March 2025

Topics: Tariffs, North West Shelf project

E&OE

Ashleigh Gillon, Afternoon Agenda Host: Joining us with reaction is Business Council of Australia Chief Executive, Bran Black. Really appreciate your time, thank you. Just explain to us how devastating these tariffs will be for Australian businesses.

Bran Black, Business Council Chief Executive: Well, look, firstly, thank you so much for having me on the show. But I think it's important here to remember that we should continue to make the case for Australia to have an exemption from these tariffs. At the end of the day back in 2018 when tariffs were applied on Australian commodities, it took the better part of eight months to secure an exemption.

So today is unquestionably a setback, and it's very disappointing indeed, but I would continue the same cautious, methodical, logical, but also persistent approach that we've taken so far in terms of our engagement with the new US administration.

Ashleigh: Bran, how worried are you that these tariffs could just be the start of our pain? I mean, if we see a global trade war erupting and China suffers, Australian exporters will be in a whole lot of trouble.

Bran: Well, we are concerned about what the next steps in this regard might be. We’re of course concerned that there may be additional steps that could be taken by the new US administration. So we wish to maximise our prospects of putting our best foot forward in that regard, and we believe that the government is doing a good job in terms of managing that relationship, and as I mentioned before, taking those cautious, logical, methodical steps to try and put Australia's best foot forward.

But we are acutely conscious to your point of what the implications of these tariffs might mean for Australian commodities more broadly, if you accept that there are now, of course, tariffs on China, what's the implication there in terms of demand for Australian commodities that underpin the manufacturing of Chinese products that are onsold to the United States.

We're working through that, of course, and we'll continue to do that. But the one thing that I would stress is that the last thing that anybody would wish to see is reciprocal tariffs placed on the United States as a consequence of the decision that's been confirmed today.

Ashleigh: Bran just on another matter, we’re still awaiting a decision from the Federal Government when it comes to the extension of the North West Shelf project in WA. I know you’ve made the point in an opinion piece today that your organisation usually doesn’t really weigh in on these sort of individual projects, but you are openly lobbying for this one. Why?

Bran: Look, there are a couple of reasons why we're supportive of this project. First and foremost, it's a project that would deliver something that Australia desperately needs. It needs gas. We know that we're facing shortfalls right around the country, but we know also that WA is looking at shortfalls as early as 2028 but certainly by 2030 so the more projects we can approve in that regard, the better.

But let's not forget that gas is a critical transitional fuel source. So again, it's important that we invest in it for that reason. We also need to acknowledge connected with that point, that there are so many countries that we trade with that are dependent upon us for their energy needs, Japan, South Korea stand out in that respect. And I genuinely believe, based on the conversations that I've had in Seoul and in Tokyo, that if we have ambitions to be a renewable energy superpower in the future, we have to be a dependable energy supplier today.

The final point that I'd make is that this is a project that has delivered $40 billion in taxes and royalties over the course of its lifetime. We see that an extension of this project will deliver further benefit for Australia, so we want to see it approved quickly.

And I'd add to this that what this project and the process that it's been through really stresses is that we have to do more about how we look at major project approvals in Australia, at the moment you have to go through a state approval process and a federal approval process for these types of major projects.

We would like to see on the other side of the election a commitment to go down the path of looking at the Samuel Review, which saw environmental benefits and business benefits, but most importantly, from our perspective, the chance to streamline what is a convoluted and burdensome set of processes.

Ashleigh: Yep, this’ll stay in the pipeline for a very long time. Bran Black, appreciate your insights. Thanks so much.