I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we are gathered, the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and pay my respects to their Elders, past and present. I also recognise the Treasurer of Australia, the Honourable Dr Jim Chalmers, and look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Welcome to the ninth annual Australian Financial Review Business Summit.
Aspiration. Growth. Security. These three words are the theme for this year’s summit. They provide the framing for a debate on Australia’s place in a world that is undergoing profound change. The global economy is transforming at pace.
Global population growth, urbanisation and the energy transition will materially shift Australia’s economic outlook in the coming decades, providing both opportunity and challenge. Equally, the competition for global talent and labour, shifting geopolitical forces, and technological advances are all strategic considerations for the future of Australia’s economic resilience.
The strategic purpose of our aspirations, and the quality of our plans for growth are the vital enablers of Australia’s ongoing economic prosperity and security. For Australia to capture its share – and more – of economic opportunity we must be purposeful and ambitious.
Former Prime Minister Paul Keating told the AFR last month that Australia cannot afford to be “timid”. That we must be decisive, and harness all of our capacity, assurance and belief to, in Keating’s words, “divine our own way forward”. Australia exists in a global context. Our economy and standards of living rely on our ability to compete globally.
Our current state is that a key strength underwriting Australia’s prosperity in past decades – large easy-to-access deposits of iron ore, metallurgical coal, and natural gas – will not be sufficient to sustain us through future decades. The global nature of competition has been and is changing.
We, too, need to adapt and change. As leaders of Australian business, I believe this is our greatest challenge: to recapture Australia’s competitiveness.
Right now, business investment as a share of the Australian economy is near a 30-year low. The past decade saw the weakest productivity growth in 60 years.
We know that population growth, decarbonisation, and electrification will be the pillars of the next stage of global economic development. The question then, and the choice, is what role Australia will play.
I can, of course, speak for the mining industry, a foundation of the Australian economy for many decades with the potential for many decades yet. Australia abounds in minerals – like copper – that will sustain a low carbon economy. Indeed, the low carbon economy will not be possible without mining. But those resources are not as easy or economically attractive to access and extract as iron ore, coal and gas. And the challenges we see in Australia’s nickel and lithium sectors are a clear example that our ability to remain resilient is being severely tested.
Others see the same opportunity that we see and are adjusting their own approach to both secure critical supplies and gain economic advantage. Global competition is fierce, and markets are unforgiving. Yet, there is much evidence that Australia’s endowment of minerals and resources can continue be a cornerstone of aspiration and growth.
Equally, there is enormous opportunity for many sectors and businesses to thrive and prosper and create greater economic diversity and resilience across the Australian economy. This is the future we want Australia to seize and why we are so forthright about the settings needed to grasp it.
There are a handful of core fundamentals that go to the heart of Australia’s ability to compete in the global arena.
Investing in technology and strategic infrastructure will unlock new avenues for growth across the economy. This is especially true in our regional communities.
Investing in skills and innovation where Australians have the capabilities required the lead the next generation of technologies and systems.
Streamlining approvals and permitting – without reducing standards – for new projects will create jobs and opportunities including for small, local and Indigenous businesses.
And finally, ensuring we have stable and globally competitive policy, regulatory and fiscal settings across all jurisdictions will provide the certainty for investment in all of the above.
To secure Australia’s growth, and the aspirations that depend on it, we cannot be timid.
We must recognise the reality of where we are today. And in everything we do, we should challenge ourselves with a fundamental question: Will this make Australia more competitive?
I recognise this is but one perspective on the opportunities and challenges ahead.
I look forward to hearing from many others over the next two days and thank the Australian Financial Review for creating the forum for that discussion.
Thank you.
Photo credit: Oscar Colman, The Australian Financial Review
