Already a subscriber?position Leader Peter Dutton has told business leaders they have a moral obligation to speak up publicly on policy issues of concern, rather than hide behind parent organisations such as the Business Council of Australia, or complain privately.
“I think CEOs have a special moral obligation to speak up about what is happing in the economy,” one attendee recounted him as saying.Another attendee described it as a “rev-up” that was reasonably well received. The audience of about 50 people included leading CEOs such as the Commonwealth Bank’s Matt Comyn, BlueScope’s Mark Vassella and Google’s Mel Silva.
But in his speech to the BCA breakfast, Mr Dutton cited Mr Joyce, who was also often outspoken on IR, as an exemplar for standing up on issues of core policy. Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy also addressed the BCA group, where he defended Australia’s productivity performance and said it was reasonably good relative to comparable economies.