The board of the Business Council of Australia sat down with The Australian Financial Review for a wide-ranging discussion about the most pressing issues for Australian businesses with the budget behind them and the federal election ahead. This is an edited and abridged transcript of that meeting.
“We’re seeing wage growth – I think the forecast is 2.75 per cent going up to 3.25 per cent. But when you look at what the Treasury secretary was talking about, the average income that you can see through the national accounts is actually growing beyond that. So, it’s in excess of 3 per cent, growing to 5 per cent.
“And it’s not just COVID, but there certainly was the uncertainty and the volatility associated with COVID, the reaction of manufacturers, destocking throughout the entire value chain, weather events in North America last year that the industry is still recovering from. “We’ve had this sense that we’ll open the borders and people will come back again. But certainly if you look at the countries have really worked hard to catch up on skilled immigration, we certainly haven’t done that. And we would very much like to see both sides of politics take that on whilst recognising that we all need to do more to skill people on the ground.“So the two big fleet decisions that we have to make this year, we’re talking to our employees about the domestic fleet replacement.
“And at times, like now, the ability to be able to manufacture key ingredients such as ammonium nitrate, sodium cyanide to support the iron ore segment and the agricultural sector, and the gold mining sector, and manufacture that in Australia is fantastic. “I think both major parties now understand that family-friendly policies are generators of economic benefits in the country and employment opportunities in a place where every skill is in very short demand. And that’s very pleasing. We’ve seen some material steps, there’s more still to be done.
“I think it’s becoming clearer and clearer to everyone that this is not welfare – it’s about generating economic participation.”: “Australia is still yet to come to grips with its past and the position of Indigenous people in this country. The Uluru statement is symbolic on one hand and practical on the other side.