The economic roundtable is Jim Chalmers' chance for bold reform. Australians can't afford anything less

The Guardian

15 hours ago

Jim Chalmers had a determined look about him this week, ahead of the government's much-hyped economic reform roundtable in Canberra.
The atmosphere in the treasurer's office was reminiscent of the days immediately before a federal budget, with frenetic activity and an air of sleep deprivation among the small army of advisers. Preparations for the three-day event have been exhaustive and Chalmers works at a pace few people in the ministerial wing can sustain.
Armed with a small page of handwritten notes, Chalmers told this column that the process of consulting with hundreds of individuals and organisations about how to turn around the country's productivity challenges had been more than worthwhile, as 30-odd attenders prepare to take their seats at the cabinet table on Tuesday morning.
There's no doubt new approaches are needed.
Productivity has barely grown at all since 2016. The stagnation in the Australian economy poses a threat to living standards, since working smarter is the long-run driver of securing higher incomes for households. Ken Henry, the former Treasury boss and summit invitee, puts the challenge another way. He calculates Australian workers have lost about $500,000 in potential pay rises over the past 25 years because of sclerotic productivity growth.
'I see it as three days to help inform three budgets,' Chalmers said, sitting at a conference table in the office previously occupied by Wayne Swan, his former boss and mentor. Family photos and a curated collection of books about politics and history dominate the space.
Conscious of messaging and expectations in Canberra and beyond, Chalmers said outcomes from the roundtable would fuel and inform future decisions of the government, helping set a direction for Labor in this term of parliament an others to come. Solutions to emerging problems such as AI and an ageing population are also badly needed.
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The event itself has required more than a little productivity already. Treasury received 900 submissions – twice the number of pitches received before Labor's jobs and skills summit early in the government's first term. Chalmers has held boardroom talks with business leaders and lobby groups, while ministers have convened more than 40 preparatory meetings of their own, attended by about 700 people. The Productivity Commission has released a slew of reports to guide the process.
Bureaucrats in Chalmers' department have used AI to organise and structure this massive input of ideas, including the predictable mix of kite flying, influence peddling and ambit claims.
On Friday, Chalmers sat down with his state and territory counterparts for the last of these events. Talking up consensus, the group agreed to work towards faster approvals for major infrastructure projects, to cut cumbersome and outdated regulation, to boost competition and build more homes more quickly.
Some serious ideas are in the mix, illustrated by an awkwardly timed Treasury leak this week, which showed Labor was preparing to move forward with reforms to clear a backlog of 30,000 housing approvals held up by outdated environmental laws, as well as new rules for AI and a pause on changes to the National Construction Code.
'There's been a heap of effort,' Chalmers said. 'Working around the clock for four weeks to make sure that people's voices are heard and that we can shape up a meaningful and useful roundtable.'
The meeting has become an organising tool for Labor's second term, including allowing Chalmers and Albanese to test ideas with voters and the media, and rule some ideas out. The prime minister has also stressed the government won't misjudge its mandate or foist new taxes on the electorate.
Overdue ideas already firmly in need of resolution are being attached as well: changes to Howard-era national environmental laws will get a kick along and Anthony Albanese telegraphed this week that road user charging rules for electric vehicles would be thrashed out over the roundtable. Here a phased-in and staged approach is expected, treating heavy vehicles differently to ensure EV take-up continues to grow in line with the renewables transition. Labor might even come away with an idea or two for major reform proposals to take to voters at the next election, putting its thumping victory over Peter Dutton to use.
But the lead-up to the summit hasn't all been smooth sailing.
It emerged on Wednesday that Chalmers and Albanese had held a face-to-face meeting last week after a reported 'frisson' over expectations for the summit. Albanese appeared frustrated at some mission creep for the talks and the pair discussed the need to 'be on the same page' about major tax reform plans and the scale of Labor's ambition. After the story emerged, both were quick to say they meet all the time, while the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, talked up their cooperation at the heart of the government.
Despite not wanting to shut down ideas ahead of the summit, Albanese and Chalmers have rejected calls to change the rate and base of the GST, and ruled out negative gearing and capital gains tax concession rule changes. The Australian Council of Trade Unions called for a four-day week for workers, without any loss of pay, a reform that feels both eminently possible in the future but too ambitious for the present.
The Greens want Labor to move faster with expensive plans for universal childcare, an ambition Albanese is laying the groundwork for already, while the Coalition is both taking part in the talks and deriding them as akin to a tour of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. It is unclear who will play the role of Augustus Gloop in this scenario.
Labor can't afford not to be bold. It has identified the productivity problem and told voters it is better placed than the Coalition to manage the economy. Chalmers wants to be remembered as a reforming treasurer, and aspires to higher office, but will need to convince his colleagues – and the sometimes more cautious prime minister – of the case for ambition.
Chalmers and Albanese made their own job harder by raising the prospect of sweeping tax reform at the start of the process, only to quickly shut down some of the serious proposals in a bid to manage expectations.
The best way to undermine claims that the roundtable is a stage-managed talkfest is to make it a success: to take up real economic reform options that drive growth and boost productivity.
Strengthening the budget and lifting living standards is as necessary as it is difficult, but buy-in from roundtable participants will be a crucial start, even if Labor has to spend political capital to get the job done.