No sooner had Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black declared a national emergency of falling living standards, higher taxes and declining productivity than loud sirens began ringing.

They were not part of the program. At the BCA’s annual dinner at the Hyatt Regency Sydney on Tuesday night, the alarm would twice more disrupt proceedings. No one moved. There was a prime minister in the room and he joined everyone else in awaiting further instructions. Eventually, a venue manager told everyone they’d completed their checks and it was a false alarm.