Event: BCA Chief Executive Bran Black interview with Sally Sara, ABC Radio National Breakfast

Speakers: ABC Radio National Breakfast, Host Sally Sara; Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Bran Black

Date: 29 May 2025

Topics: North West Shelf, net zero, Coalition shadow ministry

E&OE

Sally Sara, Radio National Breakfast Host: I'm joined now by Bran Black, the Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia. Bran Black, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.

Bran Black, Business Council Chief Executive: Thanks so much for having me on the show.

Sally: What's the reaction from the BCA to this approval, which was announced yesterday by the Environment Minister?

Bran: Well, we're pleased to see that the approval has been given. The reality is that we do need more gas, and we need it for a variety of reasons. Of course, we need it for the purposes of our own energy transition, it's a critical transitional fuel source, but we also need it to support our friends and our allies overseas that have needs of their own in the course of their own energy transition. So that is an important thing, and this project very much contributes to that.

The one point that I would note is that we've seen through this process that there is an underlying need for us to address our approval system, particularly at that federal level, with respect to environmental approvals, and this process has highlighted the need to get on with that important job, as the Prime Minister has articulated as early as his as his first speech after the election.

Sally: When you're talking about some of those issues in that respect, do you mean how long it's taken to get the approval, or the way that the approval is made?

Bran: Certainly with respect to timeliness, we do need to see a greater focus at the federal level on how we can get improved timing outcomes, faster approvals. That's not to say that we want to try and cut corners, indeed, we think it's critical that these types of processes appropriately balance up environmental, social and economic considerations, but at the end of the day, we've got to be able to deliver greater certainty.

You look at some other jurisdictions that are trying to deliver more certainty and greater timeliness with respect to their own approvals processes, and I know that our members think to themselves, well, we've got options in terms of where we place our capital and the time associated with getting to a decision is one of the considerations that they have at the forefront of their minds.

Sally: The BCA has previously advocated for net zero by 2050, and a commitment to the Paris Accord targets, by some estimates, the North West Shelf project will result in 4.3 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime. Does your support for the project override your commitment to net zero?

Bran: Not at all, our commitment to net zero very much remains in place, and I certainly confirm that. The key thing for us is making sure that we can get the settings, with respect to the next phase of Australia's net zero journey correct as we look at our 2035 targets. That's a body of work that we're in the process of undertaking for ourselves, we've been engaging directly with all of our members in terms of making sure we're in a position to provide commentary on what's reasonable, what's practical, but also what's ambitious in the context of Australia's trajectory towards net zero.

Sally: You say that the North West gas expansion will benefit all Australians, but how bad is climate change for business and all Australians?

Bran: Well, I think all of this comes back to a balancing exercise, we have to deliver net zero, we know that we need to move towards that objective, but at the same time, we've got to account for the fact that our power needs, not just in Australia but around the world, are increasing, and we need to make sure that power can continue to be delivered affordably and reliably throughout that process.

So for us, it's very much an exercise in balancing the critical objectives of future generations in terms of having an environment that is safe and secure with the critical objectives of our current generation, and ensuring that they can continue to derive an income, that our economy remains on foot, remains strong, remains viable, and that we continue to get the growth that we need as a consequence of those objectives.

Sally: The Coalition has reunited and with a new look economic team led by Ted O'Brien as the new Shadow Treasurer. Given the Coalition's policy offerings at the election, what do you want to see this new Coalition shadow ministry offer and prioritise?

Bran: Well, our priorities for the Coalition are the same as our priorities for the Government, and we're pleased to see that both the Government and the Opposition have made the right noises, in our view, in terms of where their priority lies, and that is productivity.

To our mind, that is the single greatest issue that we need to address if we are going to back in for future generations the quality of life that we're fortunate enough to enjoy today. Our productivity declined over the course of the last 12 months by 1.2 per cent. At the moment, it's over the course of the last decade, the lowest it's been in six decades.

So the reality is that we need to drive that forward, and we need to do it because that's how we get real wages up, that's how we get benefits for individuals, so that at the end of the week, after they've paid for their bills or paid for their mortgage or their rent, they've got more money left over in their back pockets. So for us, that's the critical point, and we believe that there are opportunities to work with both sides of politics to deliver on that important objective.

Sally: Bran Black, thank you for your time again on Breakfast.

Bran: Always a pleasure, thanks for having me.