Federal politics live: Live: Anthony Albanese up for 'big reform' to lift sluggish productivity
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Perth Now
12 minutes ago
- Perth Now
‘Nothing we can do': RBA's grim admission
Australians' living standards will fall and there's very little the central bank can do about it. According to the Reserve Bank's statement on monetary policy, there will be lower pay rises, weak consumer spending, falling business profits and an overall drop in living standards over the medium term. The central bank put the issue squarely on Australia's lack of productivity and points out it is powerless to stop it. 'Lower productivity growth means slower growth in business revenues, household incomes and ultimately demand,' the RBA's quarterly statement on monetary policy said. Despite the grim outlook, the RBA boss Michele Bullock was quick to point out there was little the central bank could do to fix these issues, even as she announced last Tuesday that the board was cutting interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.60 per cent. RBA governor Michele Bullock explains why the RBA can't help with productivity. Christian Gilles / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia '(The) productivity slowdown is a matter for the government that they are taking on,' Ms Bullock said. 'They're looking at what they can do.' Ms Bullock said businesses were also looking at the issue. 'There's nothing the Reserve Bank can do,' she continued. 'All the Reserve Bank can do is make sure we have low and stable inflation, and if we have full employment, both of those things are very stable environments for businesses to think about how they might improve productivity, how they might produce more for the same amount of labour and capital input.' The RBA's call comes just days ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmers' much-hyped economic roundtable Economists, unions, business people and politicians will all head to Canberra next week for a three-day discussion aimed at lifting Australia's falling productivity. Australia's Cash Rate 2022 Why does it matter? Simply put, productivity matters because it improves living standards, leads to economic growth and a greater economy. Productivity is the measure of how efficiently resources such as time, effort and materials are used to produce a given output. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia's long-term productivity has slumped. In 2003-2004, productivity grew at 1.8 per cent a year; in 2022-2023, it was down to just 0.9 per cent a year. Australians will be thousands of dollars worse off if productivity continues to slump. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar Credit: NewsWire Under this grim reality, Australians' living standards are falling. To put a dollar figure on it, the Productivity Commission estimated that full-time workers would be $14,000 a year worse off by 2035 if Australia couldn't rediscover its previous growth and continued on its current trend. Separate RBA research found the slump in productivity came at the same time as a lack of competition in business, costing every Aussie about $3000 in today's dollars. Australians remain in the dark Despite having a wide-ranging impact on their lives, most Australians are unaware of what the government is doing or trying to achieve with its productivity roundtable. According to Amplify and YouGov polling, three in four Aussies haven't heard of the roundtable and a further 60 per cent are not confident it would lead to meaningful change. Amplify chief executive Georgina Harrisson said this issue hits every Australian household, but too often governments propose solutions that pit different parts of the community against each other. 'This roundtable can't just be a talkfest limited to the Canberra bubble – not when the issue is being felt in every Australian home,' she said. 'Australians are doing it tough, with rising bills, higher housing costs and lower productivity. NED-9175-Australia's GDP 'The government can't afford to waste this moment on words alone; we need action that delivers real wins in people's pockets.' Ms Harrisson said the government needed to do far more to bring the voices of everyday Australians into the discussion. 'When the community don't trust or feel understood by their political representatives, it is more important than ever to be reaching out and letting them in to the conversations that affect them most,' she said. Most Australians are unaware of the productivity roundtable despite it impacting all of them. Credit: News Corp Australia, NewsWire/ Monique Harmer Four things to lift productivity Meanwhile, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver says there are four key ways the government can lift productivity. He believes too much regulation, the current tax system, a lack of competition and government overspending is all holding Australia back. Dr Oliver said productivity is the 'secret sauce' that enables strong growth in real wages, living standards and profits while, at the same time, keeping inflation low. 'So hopefully, the Roundtable will kick off a process of economic reform that will boost the ability of the economy to produce goods and services with the aim of boosting long-term living standards,' he said. Dr Oliver said the government should lift productivity through removing red tape, tax reform, increasing competition and having government spending capped at 25 per cent of GDP. It is currently 28 per cent. 'Combined it should free up the supply side of the economy to make it easier for the economy to supply goods and services for any given level of hours worked by Australian workers,' he told NewsWire. 'For example, it should enable us to build more homes and allow businesses to produce more.' As part of the roundtable, the economist said there needs to be a rebalance away from income taxes to a broader GST, while compensating those on a lower income, and removing nuisance taxes like stamp duty, would be key to getting Australia's productivity back on track. Dr Oliver said an uplift in productivity was key to living standards. NewsWire / John Appleyard Credit: News Corp Australia 'This sounds politically difficult but if combined with an adjustment to income tax scales to offset the regressive nature of the GST, some measures to cap property tax concessions (like cutting the overly generous capital gains tax discount) and better tax gas exports a broad consensus could be reached,' he said. Dr Oliver also proposed keeping government spending below 25 per cent of GDP as it would ensure budget stability and boost productivity by not having the government taking more than required when it comes to workers. 'The reality of course is that everyone has their wish list and expectations running into the Roundtable appear to be running too high. It's likely just the start of long process through which (hopefully) the government will pick the best options and make some compromises,' he said. NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine said stronger business investment and less regulation was required to help lift Australia's ailing productivity. 'The vast amount of job growth in our country in the last 10 years has been in the public sector, not the private sector,' he said at the Australian Banking Association annual conference in Sydney. 'When I speak to our business customers, they say it's just too hard to start, scale and grow a business. We need to fix that and reduce red tape to create more jobs in the private sector.'
News.com.au
12 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Living standards to fall as RBA warns on growth
Australians' living standards will fall and there's very little the central bank can do about it. According to the Reserve Bank's statement on monetary policy, there will be lower pay rises, weak consumer spending, falling business profits and an overall drop in living standards over the medium term. The central bank put the issue squarely on Australia's lack of productivity and points out it is powerless to stop it. 'Lower productivity growth means slower growth in business revenues, household incomes and ultimately demand,' the RBA's quarterly statement on monetary policy said. Despite the grim outlook, the RBA boss Michele Bullock was quick to point out there was little the central bank could do to fix these issues, even as she announced last Tuesday that the board was cutting interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.60 per cent. '(The) productivity slowdown is a matter for the government that they are taking on,' Ms Bullock said. 'They're looking at what they can do.' Ms Bullock said businesses were also looking at the issue. 'There's nothing the Reserve Bank can do,' she continued. 'All the Reserve Bank can do is make sure we have low and stable inflation, and if we have full employment, both of those things are very stable environments for businesses to think about how they might improve productivity, how they might produce more for the same amount of labour and capital input.' The RBA's call comes just days ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmers' much-hyped economic roundtable Economists, unions, business people and politicians will all head to Canberra next week for a three-day discussion aimed at lifting Australia's falling productivity. Why does it matter? Simply put, productivity matters because it improves living standards, leads to economic growth and a greater economy. Productivity is the measure of how efficiently resources such as time, effort and materials are used to produce a given output. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia's long-term productivity has slumped. In 2003-2004, productivity grew at 1.8 per cent a year; in 2022-2023, it was down to just 0.9 per cent a year. Under this grim reality, Australians' living standards are falling. To put a dollar figure on it, the Productivity Commission estimated that full-time workers would be $14,000 a year worse off by 2035 if Australia couldn't rediscover its previous growth and continued on its current trend. Separate RBA research found the slump in productivity came at the same time as a lack of competition in business, costing every Aussie about $3000 in today's dollars. Australians remain in the dark Despite having a wide-ranging impact on their lives, most Australians are unaware of what the government is doing or trying to achieve with its productivity roundtable. According to Amplify and YouGov polling, three in four Aussies haven't heard of the roundtable and a further 60 per cent are not confident it would lead to meaningful change. Amplify chief executive Georgina Harrisson said this issue hits every Australian household, but too often governments propose solutions that pit different parts of the community against each other. 'This roundtable can't just be a talkfest limited to the Canberra bubble – not when the issue is being felt in every Australian home,' she said. 'Australians are doing it tough, with rising bills, higher housing costs and lower productivity. 'The government can't afford to waste this moment on words alone; we need action that delivers real wins in people's pockets.' Ms Harrisson said the government needed to do far more to bring the voices of everyday Australians into the discussion. 'When the community don't trust or feel understood by their political representatives, it is more important than ever to be reaching out and letting them in to the conversations that affect them most,' she said. Four things to lift productivity Meanwhile, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver says there are four key ways the government can lift productivity. He believes too much regulation, the current tax system, a lack of competition and government overspending is all holding Australia back. Dr Oliver said productivity is the 'secret sauce' that enables strong growth in real wages, living standards and profits while, at the same time, keeping inflation low. 'So hopefully, the Roundtable will kick off a process of economic reform that will boost the ability of the economy to produce goods and services with the aim of boosting long-term living standards,' he said. Dr Oliver said the government should lift productivity through removing red tape, tax reform, increasing competition and having government spending capped at 25 per cent of GDP. It is currently 28 per cent. 'Combined it should free up the supply side of the economy to make it easier for the economy to supply goods and services for any given level of hours worked by Australian workers,' he told NewsWire. 'For example, it should enable us to build more homes and allow businesses to produce more.' As part of the roundtable, the economist said there needs to be a rebalance away from income taxes to a broader GST, while compensating those on a lower income, and removing nuisance taxes like stamp duty, would be key to getting Australia's productivity back on track. 'This sounds politically difficult but if combined with an adjustment to income tax scales to offset the regressive nature of the GST, some measures to cap property tax concessions (like cutting the overly generous capital gains tax discount) and better tax gas exports a broad consensus could be reached,' he said. Dr Oliver also proposed keeping government spending below 25 per cent of GDP as it would ensure budget stability and boost productivity by not having the government taking more than required when it comes to workers. 'The reality of course is that everyone has their wish list and expectations running into the Roundtable appear to be running too high. It's likely just the start of long process through which (hopefully) the government will pick the best options and make some compromises,' he said. NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine said stronger business investment and less regulation was required to help lift Australia's ailing productivity. 'The vast amount of job growth in our country in the last 10 years has been in the public sector, not the private sector,' he said at the Australian Banking Association annual conference in Sydney. 'When I speak to our business customers, they say it's just too hard to start, scale and grow a business. We need to fix that and reduce red tape to create more jobs in the private sector.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Man who almost lost hand in alleged machete attack gets visa extension
A man who almost lost his hand in an alleged machete attack has been granted a new visa so his medical treatment can continue in Australia. 7.30 can reveal that 33-year-old Indian national Saurabh Anand was granted the visa and is on a pathway to permanent residency after the federal government considered his case on compassionate grounds. Mr Anand survived the incident which allegedly occurred at a shopping centre in Altona Meadows just under a month ago. Five teenagers have been charged over the alleged attack including a 15-year-old boy arrested last Thursday. Mr Anand was facing deportation as his temporary visa was due to expire on August 25. The new visa will allow him to stay for up to two years, but he is also on a pathway to become a permanent resident of Australia. He says his health has been on rapid decline due to the severity of his injuries and pain. "This is a moment where I feel relieved that the government and the community has come together to support me through one of the most horrifying moments in my life," Mr Anand told 7.30. Mr Anand said the decision has rekindled his hope in humanity. Mr Anand and his mother Nitin Anand met with his local MP Tim Watts and Assistant Minister for Citizenship Julian Hill to receive the new visa. In a short meeting at the electorate office of Mr Watts, Mr Hill signed documents which granted the extension. The local MP offered Indian sweets to Mr Anand and his mother following the signing. In a poignant moment Ms Anand then took the sweets and offered them back to the two assistant ministers as a gesture of thanks for their decision. "If you have some I will have some," Mr Watts said to Ms Anand. Documents granting a two-year renewal to his subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visa were signed after Mr Anand was briefly taken temporarily into administrative detention to process the claim. Under law, it is an administrative requirement for the short detention period to take place so that the new can be granted. The decision was made under Section 195A of the Migration Act, which allows the minister to grant a detained person a visa if it was in the public interest. Mr Hill told 7.30 he was moved by Mr Anand's case. "It's the right thing to do, but also I'd hope as an Australian that if my daughter or any of our sons and daughters were in a foreign land and had been contributing to that country and ended up in a similar circumstance that another country would treat our sons and daughters as well." His recovery and treatment could take up to 12 months. "I am taking one day at a time, every day gives me a new hope, and this is a new hope for me," he said. "But as of the recovery, both physical and mental, exertion is there. "And it's going to be a long journey. "I'd like to thank everyone who has been supporting me throughout the community." On August 7, following the airing of a 7.30 story about Mr Anand's case in which he and his mother pleaded for help from the government, Mr Anand wrote to the minister seeking "urgent attention" to his case. In the email, he detailed how he was allegedly assaulted and the local medical care required for his recovery. "My injuries were so severe that it took over five hours for surgeons to reconstruct and reattach my left arm and hand, which had been nearly severed," he wrote. "Despite their efforts, I have lost approximately 80 per cent sensation in my left arm, hand, and fingers, and currently suffer from excruciating pain, multiple fractures, severed nerves, tendons, and muscles." Mr Anand has worked as a sales representative during his time in Australia and said that before his attack, he intended to move his career into the field of artificial intelligence. "I have lived in Australia for over seven years," he wrote in his email to the minister. "I have always abided by Australian laws and contributed to the community, "I am the only son of my widowed mother in India, and this incident has left me emotionally and financially devastated. "I place my hope in your compassion and kindness during this incredibly difficult period." Since the alleged attach in July attack Mr Anand has received support and visitation from both sides of politics including Victorian State Liberal MP Moira Deeming. Ms Deeming wrote to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on August 7 to plead for Mr Anand to be granted a bridging visa. The federal government will now move to grant Mr Anand permanent residency pending character checks and a full process through the Department of Home Affairs. Mr Hill said Mr Anand's work in Australia were key factors in his decision. "He studied a high-quality [degree], a master's at RMIT, and he's worked and contributed to the community," he said. Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
