February
Dutton faces down big business as he threatens to break up insurers
Investors said there was no evidence that the biggest insurers were price gouging, after the Coalition widened its criticism of business from supermarkets.
ACSI threatens to quit ASX governance council in split over diversity
The lobby group for the $4.1 trillion superannuation sector has threatened to quit the ASX Corporate Governance Council if it drops controversial diversity reporting for listed companies.
Push to delay ASX diversity rules until 2026
Key members of the ASX Corporate Governance Council will push to delay diversity reporting for listed companies until 2026, at a meeting of industry CEOs on Friday.
Why businesses are key to fixing Australia’s skills gaps
Cutting-edge training and education is happening in Australia’s largest employers. If we are to meet our national skills challenge, we must encourage more of it.
‘The world has shifted’: CEOs query penalty rates, right to disconnect
As executives ramp up pressure on Labor and the Coalition to do more to reverse a productivity slump, more flexible workplace laws have become a priority.
Universities integral to creating workforce of tomorrow
Postgraduate degrees are critical in helping the economy meet the skills needs for emerging areas, while helping mature age students to upskill and change career paths.
Australia must catch up and get serious about cutting red tape
Deregulation is a good place to start, but cutting red tape alone is not a silver bullet to fix Australia’s economic stagnation.
BCA and 30 CEOs to push Musk-style agenda on Chalmers
Big business will press local political parties to appoint a minister for deregulation and get government out of the way of private enterprise.
How careers counsellors could help plug the skills gap
Encouraging teenagers to complete high school and giving them access to careers counselling are key to plugging the yawning skills gap.
January
BCA calls for apprentices boost to future-proof workforce
Labor and the Coalition have traded blows over incentive payments for employers to take on trainee workers.
FWC case tests Labor’s ‘same job, same pay’ word to BHP
The government assured business the legislation was limited to labour hire providers. Now the minister says the concepts of labour hire and service contractors are “not mutually exclusive”.
Business Council rejects legislating fee-free TAFE
The government is hoping to bake into legislation 100,000 free TAFE places a year, but the Business Council of Australia is arguing against the idea.
December 2024
Budget update sounds a clear warning
Jim Chalmers is good at relaxed rhetoric about the economy. The mid-year figures are much tougher to explain.
Victoria’s economic rescue plan is a joke but no one is laughing
The state’s new strategy resembles a political document drawn up in an episode of Utopia rather than a serious economic blueprint to revive the state.
Trophies and sequins as Australia’s business leaders gonged
A $70,000 Rolex and a sequined jacket show life is sweet for the victors, though the path isn’t always smooth.
Furious Stephen Conroy was dumped as Business Council lobbyist
When did the BCA exactly became a discredited rabble of a business lobby? And was it around the time Conroy’s TG Public Affairs ceased receiving a retainer?
Stephen Conroy goes spluttering and unhinged against the BCA
The former Labor senator went troppo at the Business Council, whose members include his own lobby clients.
Tesla’s Robyn Denholm to lead review of R&D settings
The Albanese government has ordered the first review of research and development spending in Australia in almost 20 years.
November 2024
Victoria lags the country on anti-business payroll tax
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will host a meeting of his state and territory counterparts on Friday, in a bid to boost productivity and drive investment.
‘Unhelpful’ governments driving up interest rates: BCA
Governments should put hard caps on spending growth to rebuild their finances, preventing the public sector from pushing up inflation, the Business Council says.