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Prime Minister, Ministers, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests.
I begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land on which we meet and pay my respects to Elders past and present.
Prime Minister, thank you for joining us tonight. Your presence recognises the importance of the relationship between government and business… a relationship that matters deeply to Australia’s future.
Can I also acknowledge my fellow directors of the Business Council, our members and business leaders, and everyone who contributes to the work of the BCA.
Welcome, also, to our past BCA presidents and CEOs who join us this evening – we thank you for the contributions you have made to the BCA over the years.
And thank you to Bran and the entire BCA team for the tireless work you do.
Bran – in his speech earlier – set out the roadmap for what success looks like for the Australian economy. I’d like to talk about the steps we need to take to get there.
If there is one thing that everyone in this room can agree on it’s this – ranking 21st out of 42 nations on the Competitiveness Index is a mediocre result, and Australia is not a mediocre country.
There’s nothing new or revealing in the reasons why we rank middle of the pack. It’s the things we always talk about – our tax rates are uncompetitive, our planning systems are too slow, we are too heavily regulated and the IR system is out of balance.
And the solutions, which are encapsulated in the KPIs for the Nation which Bran launched tonight, are not revolutionary. Once again, it’s the things we, and most commentators, always talk about – we need to rebalance the tax system, harmonise and cut regulation, reduce government spending and streamline planning systems.
The challenge is not identifying the problems and the solutions. The challenge is how do you get change in an environment where substantive change is difficult and often rejected. In a political environment where attempts at change are often penalised and so we end up retreating to narrower, safer ground.
Prime Minister – I appreciate that your job is extremely difficult. You are trying to navigate the need for material structural reform in an environment where the time needed to effectively prosecute those ideas doesn’t align with political cycles. That is a problem faced by all modern democracies, and the cause and effect that we are seeing is the same all around the world. Australia is not unique in that regard.
So if we all know the problems, and we all know the solutions, how do we make change happen. To be frank, that is something that we, at BCA, spend a lot of time thinking about and there are no easy answers.
But one thing is absolutely clear – the Government can’t do it on its own.
The Government and the business sector need to work together to explain why change is needed. We need to work together to explain why solving the challenges that are being so acutely felt – cost of living, housing affordability, falling real wages, inflation – require long-term solutions, not short-term panaceas.
I think the Australian public is ready for this conversation. They get it. They want to see a long-term plan that will help them get ahead. They want to see a long-term plan that will give their children hope for the future. And they want to see that the institutions that hold influence and power are working together to deliver that plan.
I say this genuinely – Prime Minister, Treasurer, Members of Cabinet – the business community wants to work with you to create the space necessary to have the conversations that need to be had, and to come up with the solutions to the challenges facing our country.
As a country we are at our best when we work together – we saw it during COVID when the business community stepped up to deliver essential supplies and services, and the Government cleared roadblocks that in normal circumstances were considered untouchable.
We saw it during the recent fuel crisis, where Government and business moved quickly to secure critical supplies of fuel and fertiliser, and Prime Minister, your Government deserves credit for how quickly and decisively you acted.
These examples show what can be achieved when we are all pulling in the same direction, with a singular goal in mind.
That is part of the reason why we are supporting the Alliance of Industry Associations, which Bran spoke about earlier.
We felt there were too many Industry Associations arguing their specific area of interest, often at cross-purposes, and that wasn’t helping Government determine what was in the best interests of the economy as a whole.
The Alliance brings together businesses of every description – from large corporations to suburban corner stores.
When the Alliance speaks on an issue, we are speaking on behalf of the entire economy. From farmers in rural Australia, to Boardrooms in the Capital cities, and everything in between.
We represent the entire economy, we speak with one voice, and we all want the same thing – we want Australia to succeed, and we want Australians to get ahead.
Part of that role is to work together and collaborate with Government. Part of that role is to explain the practical consequences of policy making.
For every policy decision there will be a consequence for business, for investment, and for all Australians.
Governments can choose policy, but they can’t choose economics
It’s our job to explain what boardrooms are thinking, what investors are saying, what choices companies are weighing up, and what those choices mean for jobs, productivity and living standards in Australia.
It’s our job to bring evidence, experience and practical consequences to the table in the national interest.
So we can get on with doing what we need to do: investing, creating jobs, and generating prosperity.
Prime Minister, the BCA and the boarder Alliance is ready to do the hard work required to shift the policy debate in Australia.
As always, we are ready to work together with your government.
We are ready to work with you to define the policies that will make Australia better.
We are asking you to partner with us to take Australia forward.
To do all we need to do to move from 21st in the world, to Top 10. Because that is where we belong.
Please join me in welcoming the Prime Minister of Australia.
Prime Minister.