Almost 40 years ago, on September 3, 1983, a large group assembled for lunch at the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. Among the 200 national leaders were cabinet ministers, state premiers, leaders of the ACTU and ambassadors of a score of countries. They were there to launch the Business Council of Australia.

Addressing the crowd, then-prime minister Bob Hawke said: “The establishment of the Business Council of Australia is beyond doubt a landmark along the new path, the new direction Australia is taking. I have long been a firm advocate for such an organisation to give the Australian business community a stronger, clearer, a more coherent and more cohesive voice in the economic and industrial life of this nation.”