Answers to ailing productivity to steer economic future

The Advertiser

a day ago

Ideas to energise the nation's productivity will lay the groundwork for Australia's future as the federal government prepares to open the floor.
Key economic stakeholders will descend on the nation's capital for the federal government's much-anticipated economic roundtable on Tuesday, as they offer solutions to Australia's languishing productivity.
Australia has made economic progress, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, but there was more to be done.
"Our economy is finally balanced between the progress we've made on inflation and jobs and real wages and the productivity that we will need to sustain that progress into the future as well," he told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday.
"(It) is all about building consensus and building momentum around the next steps that we need to take."
The proposals will fuel decisions in different ways, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"There'll be some measures that can be done immediately if the government adopts them; there'll be some that feed into budget processes," he told reporters in Perth.
"There'll be some about the long-term challenges on the global economy, the impact on Australia and how we deal with those issues - and that's a good thing."
The opposition has remained sceptical of the roundtable.
"They're not focused on what they need to do to grow the economic pie and improve economic conditions for every Australian," coalition spokesman for small business Tim Wilson said.
While he stressed he did not want to constrain any ideas, Dr Chalmers said any ideas would need to be affordable and consistent with the government's values.
Labor has already ruled out major tax reforms such as changes to the GST but is eyeing areas including regulation and construction.
The Productivity Commission released its fifth and final report ahead of the roundtable after it was tasked with looking into economic resilience, the clean energy transformation and delivering care efficiently.
The draft recommendations handed down are designed to improve living standards for people, including growth in wages and more leisure time.
Improving productivity must be guided with a "clear purpose", Centre for Policy Development chief executive Andrew Hudson said.
"That should be ensuring ... the benefits of the economy are shared widely, and that they are able to kind of ameliorate inequality, cost of living, housing shortages ... to ensure that productivity gains translate into better lives," he told AAP.
To bolster business investment, Australia's headline company tax rate should be reduced to 20 per cent, the commission said.
This would attract foreign capital into the country after business investment had "fallen notably" in the past decade, contributing to lacklustre productivity performance.
While economists are angling for tax reform, they warn changes must come as part of a broader package to prevent a greater burden on working people.
To achieve the nation's climate target at the least cost, the commission found the federal government should prioritise expanding the safeguard mechanism, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the country's biggest polluters, to include more industrial facilities.
Boosting resilience to climate-fuelled disasters would help lower the damage bill and lead to a healthier population, the commission says.
The care economy, which includes early childhood education and aged care services, accounted for 12 per cent of the workforce in the 2022/2023 financial year, while contributing eight per cent to the nation's gross domestic product.
Improving productivity in the sector is seen as challenging because of the human nature of care.
But the commission says new technologies offer an opportunity to unleash gains without compromising quality of care, while also reducing costs.
AI can reduce the time workers spend on reporting, while robots can perform routine tasks such as vitals monitoring and logistics, the commission says.
To provide the nation with the workforce it needs for a growing economy, changes to secondary and post-high school education have been put forward as a means to ensure people have the foundational skills to smooth pathways to upskilling and entering new occupations.
Ideas to energise the nation's productivity will lay the groundwork for Australia's future as the federal government prepares to open the floor.
Key economic stakeholders will descend on the nation's capital for the federal government's much-anticipated economic roundtable on Tuesday, as they offer solutions to Australia's languishing productivity.
Australia has made economic progress, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, but there was more to be done.
"Our economy is finally balanced between the progress we've made on inflation and jobs and real wages and the productivity that we will need to sustain that progress into the future as well," he told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday.
"(It) is all about building consensus and building momentum around the next steps that we need to take."
The proposals will fuel decisions in different ways, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"There'll be some measures that can be done immediately if the government adopts them; there'll be some that feed into budget processes," he told reporters in Perth.
"There'll be some about the long-term challenges on the global economy, the impact on Australia and how we deal with those issues - and that's a good thing."
The opposition has remained sceptical of the roundtable.
"They're not focused on what they need to do to grow the economic pie and improve economic conditions for every Australian," coalition spokesman for small business Tim Wilson said.
While he stressed he did not want to constrain any ideas, Dr Chalmers said any ideas would need to be affordable and consistent with the government's values.
Labor has already ruled out major tax reforms such as changes to the GST but is eyeing areas including regulation and construction.
The Productivity Commission released its fifth and final report ahead of the roundtable after it was tasked with looking into economic resilience, the clean energy transformation and delivering care efficiently.
The draft recommendations handed down are designed to improve living standards for people, including growth in wages and more leisure time.
Improving productivity must be guided with a "clear purpose", Centre for Policy Development chief executive Andrew Hudson said.
"That should be ensuring ... the benefits of the economy are shared widely, and that they are able to kind of ameliorate inequality, cost of living, housing shortages ... to ensure that productivity gains translate into better lives," he told AAP.
To bolster business investment, Australia's headline company tax rate should be reduced to 20 per cent, the commission said.
This would attract foreign capital into the country after business investment had "fallen notably" in the past decade, contributing to lacklustre productivity performance.
While economists are angling for tax reform, they warn changes must come as part of a broader package to prevent a greater burden on working people.
To achieve the nation's climate target at the least cost, the commission found the federal government should prioritise expanding the safeguard mechanism, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the country's biggest polluters, to include more industrial facilities.
Boosting resilience to climate-fuelled disasters would help lower the damage bill and lead to a healthier population, the commission says.
The care economy, which includes early childhood education and aged care services, accounted for 12 per cent of the workforce in the 2022/2023 financial year, while contributing eight per cent to the nation's gross domestic product.
Improving productivity in the sector is seen as challenging because of the human nature of care.
But the commission says new technologies offer an opportunity to unleash gains without compromising quality of care, while also reducing costs.
AI can reduce the time workers spend on reporting, while robots can perform routine tasks such as vitals monitoring and logistics, the commission says.
To provide the nation with the workforce it needs for a growing economy, changes to secondary and post-high school education have been put forward as a means to ensure people have the foundational skills to smooth pathways to upskilling and entering new occupations.
Ideas to energise the nation's productivity will lay the groundwork for Australia's future as the federal government prepares to open the floor.
Key economic stakeholders will descend on the nation's capital for the federal government's much-anticipated economic roundtable on Tuesday, as they offer solutions to Australia's languishing productivity.
Australia has made economic progress, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, but there was more to be done.
"Our economy is finally balanced between the progress we've made on inflation and jobs and real wages and the productivity that we will need to sustain that progress into the future as well," he told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday.
"(It) is all about building consensus and building momentum around the next steps that we need to take."
The proposals will fuel decisions in different ways, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"There'll be some measures that can be done immediately if the government adopts them; there'll be some that feed into budget processes," he told reporters in Perth.
"There'll be some about the long-term challenges on the global economy, the impact on Australia and how we deal with those issues - and that's a good thing."
The opposition has remained sceptical of the roundtable.
"They're not focused on what they need to do to grow the economic pie and improve economic conditions for every Australian," coalition spokesman for small business Tim Wilson said.
While he stressed he did not want to constrain any ideas, Dr Chalmers said any ideas would need to be affordable and consistent with the government's values.
Labor has already ruled out major tax reforms such as changes to the GST but is eyeing areas including regulation and construction.
The Productivity Commission released its fifth and final report ahead of the roundtable after it was tasked with looking into economic resilience, the clean energy transformation and delivering care efficiently.
The draft recommendations handed down are designed to improve living standards for people, including growth in wages and more leisure time.
Improving productivity must be guided with a "clear purpose", Centre for Policy Development chief executive Andrew Hudson said.
"That should be ensuring ... the benefits of the economy are shared widely, and that they are able to kind of ameliorate inequality, cost of living, housing shortages ... to ensure that productivity gains translate into better lives," he told AAP.
To bolster business investment, Australia's headline company tax rate should be reduced to 20 per cent, the commission said.
This would attract foreign capital into the country after business investment had "fallen notably" in the past decade, contributing to lacklustre productivity performance.
While economists are angling for tax reform, they warn changes must come as part of a broader package to prevent a greater burden on working people.
To achieve the nation's climate target at the least cost, the commission found the federal government should prioritise expanding the safeguard mechanism, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the country's biggest polluters, to include more industrial facilities.
Boosting resilience to climate-fuelled disasters would help lower the damage bill and lead to a healthier population, the commission says.
The care economy, which includes early childhood education and aged care services, accounted for 12 per cent of the workforce in the 2022/2023 financial year, while contributing eight per cent to the nation's gross domestic product.
Improving productivity in the sector is seen as challenging because of the human nature of care.
But the commission says new technologies offer an opportunity to unleash gains without compromising quality of care, while also reducing costs.
AI can reduce the time workers spend on reporting, while robots can perform routine tasks such as vitals monitoring and logistics, the commission says.
To provide the nation with the workforce it needs for a growing economy, changes to secondary and post-high school education have been put forward as a means to ensure people have the foundational skills to smooth pathways to upskilling and entering new occupations.
Ideas to energise the nation's productivity will lay the groundwork for Australia's future as the federal government prepares to open the floor.
Key economic stakeholders will descend on the nation's capital for the federal government's much-anticipated economic roundtable on Tuesday, as they offer solutions to Australia's languishing productivity.
Australia has made economic progress, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said, but there was more to be done.
"Our economy is finally balanced between the progress we've made on inflation and jobs and real wages and the productivity that we will need to sustain that progress into the future as well," he told reporters in Brisbane on Sunday.
"(It) is all about building consensus and building momentum around the next steps that we need to take."
The proposals will fuel decisions in different ways, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"There'll be some measures that can be done immediately if the government adopts them; there'll be some that feed into budget processes," he told reporters in Perth.
"There'll be some about the long-term challenges on the global economy, the impact on Australia and how we deal with those issues - and that's a good thing."
The opposition has remained sceptical of the roundtable.
"They're not focused on what they need to do to grow the economic pie and improve economic conditions for every Australian," coalition spokesman for small business Tim Wilson said.
While he stressed he did not want to constrain any ideas, Dr Chalmers said any ideas would need to be affordable and consistent with the government's values.
Labor has already ruled out major tax reforms such as changes to the GST but is eyeing areas including regulation and construction.
The Productivity Commission released its fifth and final report ahead of the roundtable after it was tasked with looking into economic resilience, the clean energy transformation and delivering care efficiently.
The draft recommendations handed down are designed to improve living standards for people, including growth in wages and more leisure time.
Improving productivity must be guided with a "clear purpose", Centre for Policy Development chief executive Andrew Hudson said.
"That should be ensuring ... the benefits of the economy are shared widely, and that they are able to kind of ameliorate inequality, cost of living, housing shortages ... to ensure that productivity gains translate into better lives," he told AAP.
To bolster business investment, Australia's headline company tax rate should be reduced to 20 per cent, the commission said.
This would attract foreign capital into the country after business investment had "fallen notably" in the past decade, contributing to lacklustre productivity performance.
While economists are angling for tax reform, they warn changes must come as part of a broader package to prevent a greater burden on working people.
To achieve the nation's climate target at the least cost, the commission found the federal government should prioritise expanding the safeguard mechanism, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the country's biggest polluters, to include more industrial facilities.
Boosting resilience to climate-fuelled disasters would help lower the damage bill and lead to a healthier population, the commission says.
The care economy, which includes early childhood education and aged care services, accounted for 12 per cent of the workforce in the 2022/2023 financial year, while contributing eight per cent to the nation's gross domestic product.
Improving productivity in the sector is seen as challenging because of the human nature of care.
But the commission says new technologies offer an opportunity to unleash gains without compromising quality of care, while also reducing costs.
AI can reduce the time workers spend on reporting, while robots can perform routine tasks such as vitals monitoring and logistics, the commission says.
To provide the nation with the workforce it needs for a growing economy, changes to secondary and post-high school education have been put forward as a means to ensure people have the foundational skills to smooth pathways to upskilling and entering new occupations.