Business groups praise PM’s summit to address ‘woeful’ productivity

Australian business groups have praised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to convene a summit that is set to address the nation’s declining productivity rates, however, hoping that it will not be a “set and forget exercise”.

The word “productivity” has been thrown at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s second-term government since its decisive federal election win in May, with business groups stressing its importance over the following three years.

With Labor set to yet again rock the employer boat with industrial relations reforms that include the removal of non-compete clauses and the entrenchment of worker penalty rates, appeasing businesses by addressing what they deem as “woeful” productivity performance became top priority for Albanese and new Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth.

Since taking up the ministerial mantle, Rishworth has pushed for collective discussions between unions and employer groups in hopes of addressing productivity challenges.

“I do want to see more cooperative workplaces where workers and unions and employers work together to resolve any disputes that arise. But actually, look at how they can best work together to deliver productive workplaces. I think that is critical in the next three years,” she said.

Back on 3 June, Rishworth led a discussion at a meeting of the National Workplace Relations Consultative Council with both unions and employer groups – describing the get together as “a productive conversation”.

Now, Albanese has slated a similar meeting for August labelled as the “productivity summit”, set to be a roundtable headed up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers to shape the Labor government’s “growth and productivity agenda”.

“With two interest rate cuts already this year, there is a growing sense that our economy is turning the corner. Making our way forward depends on what all of us can work together to achieve,” Albanese told the National Press Club yesterday (10 June).

“At Parliament House in August, we will bring together a group of leaders from the business community, the union movement and civil society. This will be a more streamlined dialogue than the Jobs and Skills Summit, dealing with a more targeted set of issues.

“We want to build the broadest possible base of support for further economic reform. To drive growth. Boost productivity. Strengthen the budget. And secure the resilience of our economy, in a time of global uncertainty.

“What we want is a focused dialogue and constructive debate that leads to concrete and tangible actions. The starting point for our government is clear. Our plan for economic growth and productivity is about Australians earning more and keeping more of what they earn. We want to build an economy where growth, wages and productivity rise together.”

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) chief executive officer Andrew McKellar welcomed the move by Albanese, stating: “Increasing productivity is essential for increasing business investment and creating greater economic growth.

“I welcome the Prime Minister’s announcement for a Productivity Summit.

“The business community looks forward to participating in the summit and contributing constructive and sensible ideas to address the problem.”

Although Innes Willox, chief executive of Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), welcomed the decision, he was quick to call out the government on its previous omissions of addressing “declining” productivity rates.

“The Prime Minister’s decision to convene a productivity summit in August marks a welcome focus on addressing the real challenges facing Australia’s productivity and investment performance,” said Willox.

“Since the pandemic, and even before that, Australia’s productivity performance has been woeful. With productivity the ultimate wellspring of national and individual wealth and prosperity, we cannot afford to let it slide sideways for another five years.

“Unfortunately, the need to raise productivity was rarely mentioned during the recent election campaign. Current policy settings at both national and state levels are clearly not working. This summit is, therefore, ideally timed, and needs to focus on immediate reforms that can promptly turn our productivity performance around.

“If we continue to let our productivity levels flatline, we are dooming our economic narrative to be one about managing decline rather than embracing the opportunities that can come from a national focus on sustainably lifting living standards for generations to come.”

Putting it bluntly, although Willox praised the decision, he remained sceptical about the longevity of Labor’s productivity pledge.

“This summit will provide an opportunity to work on getting our key policy settings on the right footing to meet the economic opportunities Australia now faces. It cannot be a set-and-forget exercise. Rather, it should be the start of a sustained national conversation about working together to build an economy for the future,” said Willox.