Business alliance to seek 25% red tape reduction at Economic Reform Roundtable
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The news: In a submission to be published on Monday, an alliance of almost 30 groups representing a cross-section of Australian business will call for key outcomes from Labor’s Economic Reform Roundtable this week.
The context: The Alliance of Industry Associations, which includes the Business Council of Australia, the Tech Council of Australia, the Australian Energy Council, the Australian Investment Council among others, will on Monday call for a 25% reduction in red tape by 2030.
In addition to the red tape reduction, the Alliance’s submission to the Roundtable will seek planning and major project approvals reform, an innovation agenda, and a process for productive tax reform that doesn’t raise costs for consumers or businesses.
The alliance will argue that the test for the Roundtable will be whether it lifts business investment across the economy to boost productivity and drive higher living standards for all Australians.
We must avoid any moves that threaten confidence, including high taxes on business which will only drive away the investment needed to boost Australian living standards and real wages,” the Alliance will state.
Over the weekend, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said that the improvements recently in inflation and wages growth, alongside strong new jobs creation, provides “a really good platform” to work on “bigger more persistent structural challenges in our economy, like productivity”.
A key focus of the Roundtable will be Chalmers’ push for “better regulation”. Ahead of the roundtable, the Treasurer and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher contacted 38 Commonwealth regulators for ideas and this resulted in 280 suggested actions, of which half are new ideas. It will be a theme present at multiple sessions.
The numbers: Around 900 submissions were received by Treasury ahead of the Roundtable including ideas to bolster productivity. Half of Australia’s 50 biggest businesses are represented in submissions, with 70 from businesses with an annual turnover of $250 million or more.
What they said: Business Council of Australia chief Bran Black will state in the submission: “Australia is facing an uncertain future unless we fix the real challenges within our economy, otherwise the same high quality of life that generations of Australians have enjoyed will be put at risk…We need to cut red tape for consumers and businesses, so it’s quicker to approve and build homes, and make it easier for a businesses to operate, so a café owner in Melbourne doesn’t face 36 licences before they can pour a cup of coffee.”
The source: Alliance of Industry Associations statement
