‘Chilling effect:’ Business heavyweights send an economic warning to Canberra

Business heavyweights have sounded a warning about the economic dangers of populism, saying it threatens to corrode trust in key institutions and make it harder to achieve much-needed policy reforms.

As the federal government faces a business backlash over industrial relations, corporate leaders gathered for the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner in Sydney on Tuesday criticised the rising populist tone in public debate, and called for businesses and the government to work together.

BCA chief executive Bran Black, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and BCA president Geoff Culbert at the annual BCA dinner.Credit: Peter Rae

The high-powered event was also attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who told corporate bosses Labor was working to spare them from more “extreme” policies.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn, who in August attacked a Greens’ policy on tax as “insidious populism,” warned that a weakening in the quality of public debate could ultimately have a “chilling” effect on the economy by eroding trust in institutions.

Comyn said politics should be a contest of ideas, but policy discussion should be “fact-based” and in the long-term interests of Australia and the economy.

“I think there’s always room for a robust but civil debate and I think we’ve certainly seen examples of that, but we’ve certainly seen some examples of perhaps less fact-based debates and discussion,” Comyn told this masthead as he arrived at the BCA event.

CBA boss Matt Comyn has labelled Greens’ proposed tax on excessive profits an example of “insidious populism”.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

“I think if the quality of the debate and discussion erodes, it has a chilling effect on the economy, and I think, in trust and confidence in institutions of all types, over time.”

Comyn said Australia had a “good history and track record of trust and confidence” and this had served the nation well, and it was important this trust was not lost. Later, after Albanese’s speech, Comyn said he thought the prime minister had responded to the challenge “graciously and thoughtfully” on Tuesday night.

Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott, a critic of the government’s industrial relations policies, called for businesses and government to work together to solve long-term problems such as the housing shortage and energy transition.

“I think populism just takes the focus away from the issues,” Scott told this masthead.

Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott, second from left, and Musica Viva Australia chairman Charles Grahamm second from right.Credit: Peter Rae

“We’ve got some really important issues facing the country, we’ve got a cost-of-living crisis, we’ve got a housing shortage, and we need to continue to find a path towards net zero, all of these things need business and government to work really closely together.”

When asked what Labor had done to put some in the business community offside, Scott said: “I think it’s worth noting that a lot of the problems we’re trying to solve are really difficult problems. They need a long-term focus, they need to engage business.”

“Most of the big problems need to be supported with the ingenuity, the investment that business brings,” he added.

Following ongoing political debate over alleged “price gouging” by big business, BCA president Geoff Culbert said in his speech that businesses had become “a convenient scapegoat for all manner of challenging issues, and it’s coming from all sides of politics.”

“We have to resist the cycle of populist short-term thinking,” he added. “We have to be prepared to face into and tackle the hard issues that will define our future. And the scapegoating of business has to stop.”

The dinner was attended by many of the most powerful people in the country, including Albanese, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and a wide range of corporate bosses including Atlassian chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes, Telstra CEO Vicky Brady, Coles CEO Leah Weckert and National Australia Bank CEO Andrew Irvine.

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.