CEO Survey: Companies from J to Q

CEO Survey: Companies from J to Q, alphabetically, respond.

he Australian’s CEO Survey. Artwork by Tom Jellett

The Australian’s CEO Survey: Companies from J to Q.

Robbie Vanderzeil, Jarden Australia

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

Fundamentally the economy is well-positioned for a solid recovery.

 

The biggest risk is likely a new, severe Covid-19 variant which drives another round of lockdown and economic uncertainty. I’m not sure if Omicron is it, but we’re seeing a much faster response from policy makers in recognising the risks which is a positive sign.

 

Elsewhere, labour shortages and supply chain issues are a major concern for many businesses and have the potential to crimp growth if firms are not able to secure the resources they need.

 

Our business will benefit enormously from open borders. With Australia and New Zealand’s capital markets becoming increasingly synchronised, there is potential for our businesses and economies to work even more closely together. And our teams are looking forward to finally breaking bread when the borders reopen after too many Zoom calls across the Tasman! Nothing beats in person connection to build culture and collaboration.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

Inflation has certainly been a big theme for a lot of corporates. So far it has been most concentrated in imported goods and building materials, but we are seeing signs of it broadening out into wages and more domestic goods, partly due to higher transport costs.

 

Looking into next year we are expecting broad based price rises across the consumer space, especially in food and supermarkets as higher input and transport costs see suppliers push through higher prices.

 

We’re expecting inflation to remain higher than it was pre-pandemic in the medium term, but still see the RBA on hold until wages rise toward 3 per cent - likely not until 2023.

 

Overall the macro policy response to the Covid-19 crisis has been very positive, it’s significantly reduced permanent economic scarring and put the economy in a strong position for recovery. However, low rates and fiscal stimulus have also exacerbated inequality globally, with asset prices (particularly housing) surging. Balancing this against support the recovery will be a major challenge for policy ahead.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

We started our business in Australia during a global pandemic. Fourteen months on, we’ve hired more than 130 people from a diverse range of backgrounds who have come together at one of the biggest moments of disruption in Australia’s investment banking history.

 

Our people are key to our competitive advantage and we’ve had the rare opportunity to create a team full of exceptionally talented people from scratch. Most of the senior team has worked together for more than 10 years in various ways, and with Covid-19 we’ve been able to capture key international talent – like managing directors Catherine McCormack and Reeny Paraskeva, who repatriated from New York, or Julien Dyon from London.

 

When we’re hiring, what matters most to us is if you have great ideas. We’re focused on our teams’ ideas, solution and creativity, rather than their entrenched relationships. We think the market is moving away from leaning on those relationships; they’re more inclined to give mandates based on ideas and content.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

Sustainability is something we care deeply about and doing the right thing is at the very core of our business. We’re certified carbon zero by Toitu Envirocare – and we voluntarily offset double the carbon emissions we produce each year, making us effectively carbon negative. We are constantly investing into our sustainability offering – whether that’s helping corporates understand the access carbon markets, or helping solar installations or carbon sinks get off the ground.

 

We’re close to finalising our ESG framework and have taken a path of inclusion – areas that we will actively support that have a positive impact on environmental and social issues, like decarbonisation. While the financial services industry has traditionally focused on the Environmental aspect, we think we can make a real difference on the Social side. This is a natural strength of our business in New Zealand, and something that we’ll embrace in Australia on things like Indigenous partnerships and affordable housing.

 

Through our strategic alliance with Nomura, we have connectivity with their industry leading Greentech team which has completed more than 125 transactions around the world and has deep relationships with incumbents, innovators and investors across all sustainable sectors.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

Job vacancies are at record highs so we’re expecting a strong rebound in the labour market with unemployment likely falling to 4 per cent by the end of next year. The biggest challenge in the near-term is likely the supply of skilled labour – while the reopening of borders to visa holders will help, it will likely take time for Australia’s migration levels to rebound. In our industry, we expect the demand for talent to continue next year.

 

In terms of working from home – our business started during a global pandemic, so we’ve been able to set some new norms around how we work. We’re committed to offering flexible working but know this will look very different across our teams. Each team will come up with their own charter, setting out what works for them in the context of their clients and team’s interests. Any time spent in the office should be focused on collaboration and new ideas. We believe that allowing our employees to flex their working pattern to better suit their lives will mean they are happier, less stressed and more productive and therefore can sustain the level of excellence we require at Jarden. We’re focused on outcomes and ideas, not hours behind the desk.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

Covid-19 has evolved at a rapid rate so I think it’s important to appreciate the extremity of the situation each level of government has been dealing with when assessing their performance. Despite its challenges, the NSW government has done a great job of balancing public health and the pathway to reopening and I believe has taken the community to a good place.

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Joseph Healy, Judo Bank

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

As the nation’s only SME-focused bank, Judo has a very close relationship with the SME economy; in fact, our fortunes are inextricably linked.

 

In our discussions with our customers, three key issues for SMEs have come up consistently this year: labour shortages, supply chain uncertainty, and, as a consequence of both, the building up of material inflationary pressures.

 

In a macro context, markets are strong, but there is a concern that asset price inflation in both equities and housing may represent a material risk in 2022. The housing market and the level of debt underpinning house prices remains a major concern with contagion risk well beyond housing. How this is managed in 2022 could be defining.

 

There is, however, no doubt that the actions of the federal government, through the JobKeeper payment and other measures, helped to support our economy and, when combined with accommodating RBA settings, has left it in a far better position than might otherwise have been expected.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

Inflation is a clear risk as it can get out of control and given the conditions in the housing market, interest rate policy will require careful consideration. There is a concern that with the level of quantitive easing that we have seen here and elsewhere that a whole new set of macro-policy challenges are emerging, with no precedent. That said Australia’s economic recovery will require skilful management by the RBA and state and federal governments to support small business owners struggling with cost pressures.

 

An extended period of super low interest rates has reduced business failure rates in Australia. Sentiment is gradually improving as the pandemic situation becomes clearer – and all signs are pointing to strong economic activity in 2022, even in the face of intensified inflation and wage pressures.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

The pandemic has had a serious impact on the banking sector, which was ill-prepared for the ensuing disruption and uncertainty.

 

For decades, the banks have aggressively sought to reduce costs by industrialising core banking services, from deskilling bankers, to introducing algorithmic credit assessments, and forcing customers to contact the bank via a call-centre. Added to this mix, the big banks operate under burden of legacy infrastructure and systems.

 

The pandemic exposed fatal flaws in this system.

 

Businesses clamoured for urgent support; call-centres clogged up; credit approval times blew out; and many businesses were left stranded.

 

A key priority at Judo is to continue our rapid growth in the market and expand the level of support and services we provide to Australian SMEs, particularly through new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

 

More so than in retail or personal banking, the quality of personalised service is the key differentiator for SME banking. The butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker need someone who understands their business, as well as the risks and opportunities that a post-pandemic world will throw up.

 

Bankers skilled in the craft of SME banking are more important now than ever, and this goes to the heart of what Judo stands for.

 

We empower our relationship bankers and credit executives to be ‘in-market’ lenders who can collectively exercise decision-making judgement, to drive speed to market for customers, without multiple layers of complex approvals or a ‘head office sign-off’ mentality.

 

Accordingly, we consider ourselves a digitally supported but human-led bank. And as a challenger bank built in the cloud, leveraging the latest technology has been fundamental to our relationship-based banking model since Judo was founded.

 

What the pandemic has done for the banking industry is to act as a catalyst for accelerating the momentum on the digitalisation of business models so that is easier for customers to do business with their bank and for the banks to better manage the complex nature of their business. This is positive.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

Our board recently approved our ESG policy reflecting the fact that we are both a relatively new bank and only recently became an ASX-listed entity.

 

Judo Bank is committed to doing business for the common good and the long-term.

 

As a relatively new bank, Judo has carefully navigated societal concern with certain sectors of the economy, and we have no ties to high emitting businesses or industries.

 

We are committed to making a positive contribution to society by upholding our ESG obligations – and, over time, convert good intentions into practical and measurable action.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

Until international borders fully open and we see a return of roughly 140,000 foreign temporary visa holders, competition for workers across the economy will continue to increase dramatically in 2022.

With Judo rapidly growing, we place significant time and resources on attracting, developing, and retaining the best talent in banking.

 

A significant percentage of our recruitment sourcing comes from employee referrals (approximately 40 per cent). In order to retain this enviable record and ensure our staff continue recommending Judo to their peers, flexible work practices will be given priority over a one-size-fits-all approach.

 

Covid-19 has changed the way our people think about how and where they work. As a cloud-based bank, 100 per cent of our people can work from home and the Flex@Judo guidelines provide people with a framework to manage a hybrid working model (a mix of working from home and in the office) and support for home office set-up.

 

Our people are the cornerstone of the business, and as a young company still weaving the cultural and social fabric of the organisation having as many people as possible back in the office is important.

 

That said, flexibility is also key. a Accordingly, we encourage our people to spend a minimum of two days a week in the office to maintain a sense of belonging, and to build trusted relationships. Judo also has face-to-face induction days, regular catchups with senior management and social events, either virtually or in person, as well as ‘lunch and learn’ sessions.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

Judo’s positioning as we went into the pandemic, and the resurgence of the economy in response to the sustained stimulus packages, has meant that we have had an outstanding year.

 

The federal government stepped in and provided a vital role in keeping Australia’s economy alive. While mistakes have been made – and the response of some state governments very disappointing – as a nation, Australia has managed the pandemic extremely well.

 

The concern going forward is that there is now a clear shift of power to State governments and a weakening of the role of the Federal government, and this is a concern given the conduct of some State leaders throughout the pandemic. In many ways the national political landscape has changed in a way that is a concern for business.

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Andrew Yates, KPMG Australia

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

• Virus: The world economy is still at risk of major disruption from another major mutation of the virus. There needs to be a concerted effort by advanced wealthy countries to help with a globally efficient vaccine rollout program. KPMG strongly advocates governments to work together to, at best, stop Covid-19, or at a minimum, evolve it from a pandemic into a treatable daily disease.
• Staff shortages: Shortages of experienced staff will continue to hamper growth plans. In the coming year, competition for skilled staff will be even more intense than it is now. These shortages will be eased somewhat when Australia’s international borders are reopened to skilled migration.
• Election uncertainty: In any year in which a federal election is held, uncertainty is elevated, and the attention of governments is diverted to campaigning and away from essential reforms. While this is an inevitable part of the democratic process, it can have an impact on decision-making processes within elected governments and the public service.

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

At this stage it is impossible to assess the extent to which elevated inflation is transitory or ongoing. It would be inappropriate for the authorities to assume it’s ongoing and tighten monetary policy early. The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy stance appears appropriate, with no imminent tightening planned.

 

At some stage, fiscal policy will need to return to a more sustainable position. This year’s Intergenerational Report projects budget deficits for the next four decades. While the Reserve Bank should not target house prices as such, the house-price boom has been very redistributive, to existing property owners and away from first-home buyers. Macro-prudential tools might need to be utilised more heavily if we are to avoid large-scale mortgage defaults when interest rates eventually return to more normal levels.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

The disruption brought by Covid-19 has accelerated our firm’s investment into digital products and services. It has also forced us to rethink the way we bring global insights and expertise to our clients here in Australia.

 

Perhaps most importantly, it has forced our clients to rethink and transform their businesses along similar lines, increased tech investment and digital adoption alongside strengthening and diversifying global connectivity – particularly with a focus on supply chains and customer experience.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

• Transitioning our offices to be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy: We are working with our energy retailers and base building managers to source 100 per cent of our tenancy electricity from solar, wind and hydro sources by 2022. This change will see a reduction of more than 5000 tonnes in our annual emissions.
• Introducing an internal price on carbon to reduce business air travel: The aim of our IPC is to increase visibility and accountability of our air travel impact across the firm and engage our people to help reduce emissions from this source (which accounted for 75 per cent of our carbon footprint pre-pandemic).
• New ESG training for all staff: Collaborating with Cambridge University Judge Business School and New York University Stern School of Business Executive Education to provide comprehensive ESG training for all KPMG colleagues globally.

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

Jobs market: Labour shortages will be evident through 2022 at all skill levels. Australia has traditionally relied on permanent and temporary migration to ease labour shortages. The closure of Australia’s international borders for the two years and restrictions on immigration into 2022 will contribute heavily to labour shortages at all skill levels. Greater emphasis on domestic training is warranted.

 

Working from home: Our firm’s new ‘Work Anywhere’ policy allows our people to flex and work in a way that makes sense and suits them. The options are broad and many - including from home, at a client site, in an office, or in another country when visiting friends and family overseas. We recognise that many of our people have been separated from their loved ones during the pandemic. As Australia reopens its borders, we hope the policy will help our people reconnect with their family and friends, while still being able continue their work with us.

 

How would you rate business, State and Federal Government performance this year?

 

Dealing with a once-in-a-century pandemic is challenging for all governments. national cabinet has been a valuable coordinating mechanism, though it appears to have frayed in the back end of 2021. It’s easy to be critical and to be wise with the benefit of hindsight, but overall, state and federal government responses have been very good, especially by international standards.

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Ahmed Fahour, Latitude Financial Services

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

As a major lender, consumer confidence is critical, especially as new Covid-19 variants emerge. Vaccination remains Australia’s best defence, preventing lockdowns and enabling borders to open and stay open. In-line with the national roadmap, we now need every state to follow NSW and Victoria’s lead in opening up.

 

Consistency on borders will also ensure that Australia can return to a sustainable level of migration and avoid some of the labour shortages that are impacting certain industries.

 

Other risks include the supply chain challenges that have been well documented and growing inflationary pressures.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

Clearly Australia’s macro settings enabled households and business to withstand the worst of Covid-19. But while we’ve come through relatively unscathed compared to other countries, the measures that proved successful over the past 18 months have created new challenges as we move to the recovery phase, including pressure on the federal budget, significantly higher debt and labour shortages. While there’s a focus on inflation, underlying inflation remains within the RBA’s target range.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

For Latitude it has meant accelerating our digitisation plans. During the first months of Covid-19, we probably delivered a few years’ worth of changes in the space of a few months. This trend has continued over the past year, most recently with our acquisition of Symple Loans which will become Latitude’s new lending platform and improve the experience we offer customers.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

We are exploring a range of green lending opportunities such as the way we underwrite loans for electric vehicles and support households to reduce their emissions. For Latitude, it also means playing our part by reducing our travel and office footprint.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

Strong fiscal support from the federal government has enabled Australia to avoid the labour market scarring of past recessions. The jobs market is in far stronger shape today as a result and will strengthen further next year, with certain skills in particularly hot demand.

While we’re looking forward to returning to the office for collaboration and engagement, remote

working will remain an important part of our workforce planning next year and beyond.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

While we got off to a slow start, we should all be incredibly proud of the willingness of Australians to embrace Covid-19 vaccines, supported by governments and business. This has made everything else possible.

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Tony Lombardi, Lendlease

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

In 2022, Australia is well positioned to rebound from Covid-19. However, supply chain pressures, skills shortages and inflation represent risks to a sustained recovery for the local economy, all of which will be exacerbated by border closures.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

Inflationary pressures are building in Australia, highlighting higher energy costs and pandemic-induced supply chain shortages. As a result, inflation may push higher near term before easing to pre-pandemic levels as capacity constraints ease. The risk however remains elevated, particularly if we see broad-based wage inflation.

 

The nation’s macro policy settings have been appropriate to manage the pandemic phase, the challenge now will be how to manage a soft landing during the post-pandemic phase, where interest rates are raised just enough to take the edge off inflation but not enough to push the economy into downturn amidst the backdrop of a strong domestic economy.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

Our sector has been a laggard in embracing new technology. However, in 2018 Lendlease launched Podium – our property lifecycle platform incorporating a portfolio of digital products and services. In simple terms, it means using technology to deliver more sustainable and human friendly projects in a more efficient way. Our MIND project in Milan is one example. Located on the former 2015 Expo site, we’re using “digital twin” technology to develop the precinct, which includes centres for innovation as well as residential, commercial and retail areas. Digital twins are virtual replicas that allow us to consider the thousands of different project design decisions in totality before a single shovel hits the ground. In turn, this is helping us deliver safer and more sustainable projects that have people at their centre.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

We’ve set ourselves the most aggressive emissions reduction targets for  our sector globally – net zero by 2025 and absolute zero by 2040. Given what’s at stake, it’s no longer enough to make ambitious commitments without translating them into real and tangible actions. We’re now trialling everything from jack hammers powered by vegetable oil to heavy earth-moving equipment running on wind energy. We’ve also signed a new global partnership to increase the use of cross laminated timber, which contains far less embodied carbon than steel and cement.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

While we’ve always adopted a flexible work approach, our people around the world work in a range of different settings including project sites, retail locations, retirement villages, client offices and our own locations. As such, it’s impossible to adopt a one size fits all approach to flexibility. Rather, we’re framing flexibility conversations using three questions – what best supports the needs of our customers, the needs of individual teams, and the needs of team members and their families.

 

How would you rate business, State and Federal Government performance this year?

 

Federal and state governments should both be given credit for the heavy lifting they undertook to insulate our economy from the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.

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Amanda Lacaze, Lynas Rare Earths

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

For our business the top risks relate to logistics; shipping delays, disruptions to supply chains and unpredictability in the external environment. Each of these issues has been triggered by the pandemic and each continues to be affected as pandemic effects are felt in various geographies.

 

Shipping delays and disruptions continue around the world and in some cases are getting worse. For Lynas, transit time for concentrate shipped from Fremantle to Kuantan, has increased from 15 days in March to 33 days in Decdember. Whilst the delay is difficult, the unpredictability of the transit time is the most challenging issue to manage.

 

Many supply chains are yet to return to normal following the pandemic and we see this continuing for some time.

 

It is pleasing to see economies and markets grow post pandemic. However, the challenge of planning for growth within an uncertain external environment has become a key risk for many businesses.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

Covid-19 appears to have accelerated underlying trends such as the adoption of new technologies, the transition to a low carbon economy and the diversification of supply chains.

 

This is an exciting time for Lynas as Rare Earths are critical inputs to green technologies such as wind turbines, hybrid and electric vehicles and other energy efficient technologies.

 

Lynas is ideally positioned to contribute to supply chain resilience for rest of world manufacturers as the only significant supplier of separated Rare Earths outside of China.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

In September this year we committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.

 

Using this programme, we are able to focus on real, measurable change driven by technology improvements. We have found this focus on practical solutions has resonated strongly with our workforce.

 

Specific initiatives include a focus on flowsheet developments to increase the amount of recycled water and chemicals used in our processing and transitioning from non-renewable to renewable energy sources.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

In Western Australia, continuing border restrictions are leading to a tight labour market. Our focus is to ensure we are an employer of choice offering excellent conditions and challenging work. By doing this we are confident we can retain our current skilled workforce and attract new talent.

 

With respect to working from home, we see this as a fairly niche issue. As with most workplaces, the majority of our people work on site in operational roles. Our priority is to keep our people safe and engaged in the workplace.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

The pandemic has highlighted weaknesses in our federation. Lack of policy consistency and politicisation of the pandemic has been frustrating for many. In many instances decision making has lacked nuance.

 

I have been reminded of the old adage that when the only tool you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail. The negative consequences particularly for our young people will be felt for many years. Whilst there is much discussion of the economic consequences my fears are for the mental health effects particularly the increase in anxiety levels amongst our young people. It appears that “helicopter parenting” has now extended to “helicopter governing” with the consequence that individuals are less able to assess and manage risk.

 

Whilst I do not agree with many of the decisions taken by our political leaders, I acknowledge that state and federal leaders and their governments have mostly been doing their best in extremely trying times.

 

I feel most Australian businesses have performed well through the pandemic.

 

Management of employee health and safety has been prioritized. At the same time, Australian businesses have demonstrated an ability to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and have been proven to be remarkably resilient.

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David Koczkar, Medibank

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

The current experience overseas with Covid-19 suggests testing, tracing and boosters will be needed for some time yet. If we continue to see positive momentum in the management of Covid-19 then there’s every expectation of strong recovery and growth.

 

If this momentum is disrupted or if inflation bucks the current forecast, this would pose a risk to household confidence. While Covid-19 has disrupted the health system, it’s also sped up innovation in how care is delivered – which supports the future sustainability of healthcare in Australia.

 

This will be important to help manage the longer-term implications of COVID we’re seeing, such as the impact of the big drop off in diagnostic tests and scans, mental health concerns, and longer elective surgery waitlists.

 

It would be a missed opportunity for the health sector if this momentum was lost.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

The continuation of low unemployment, coupled with strong household demand and some capacity constraints in supply chains, means higher inflation is an economic certainty. But we need to keep it in perspective – inflation is currently at the bottom end of the RBA’s target band.

 

The RBA recently signalled that it expects inflation growth to be only gradual and that Australia is well placed to manage current forecasts.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

The uptake and acceptance of virtual care and home-based care would not be where it is if it hadn’t been for Covid-19. Whether through necessity or personal preference, more people have now experienced the benefits of telehealth, virtual care or home-based care during the pandemic.

 

We’ve continued to build upon our investments and partnerships in virtual care models – they are now a real differentiator for our customers and we’re applying them to the public system as well. This year Medibank and Calvary stood up a care program that has supported almost 14,000 Covid-positive patients in their homes in New South Wales and Victoria – from assessing the level of care they required through to providing telehealth support or remote care monitoring.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

We’ve been carbon neutral in our operations since 2018 and expect to achieve net zero for our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2025 through energy reductions and renewables. Scope 3 emissions will take longer, but we’ll seek opportunities to expedite this as much as possible. We’ll also engage our customers and industry peers to champion climate action.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

I expect the labour market to remain tight although eased borders will help to alleviate some labour shortages. The competition for talent will go up a notch as will the focus on retention.

 

Flexible working will have more weight across both, as will employee health and wellbeing.

 

Both of these areas are integral to our culture and way of working. Our people will still come to the office to connect and collaborate when they need to, but this will not be Monday to Friday by default and we have a really strong health and wellbeing proposition for our people.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

It has been a challenging year for everyone, both in Australia and globally. I think Australian businesses have, on the whole, stood up for their customers and the community throughout the challenges of Covid-19, as have governments at all levels.

 

But I’m sure everyone is hoping for a better 2022.

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Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, Mirvac

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

We are in a stage of moving from pandemic to endemic and that always came with risks of Covid-19 variants. While we wait to understand the transmissibility, severity and vaccine effectiveness of the Omicron variant, clearly many things are more rapidly advanced compared to early 2020, including Australia’s strong vaccination rate.

 

Other risks stem from ongoing pressures in supply chain which a new variant could exacerbate further if global trade and mobility with borders stayed closed.

 

Outside of pandemic impacts, the risks around housing affordability have surfaced loud and clear again at the end of 2021. While supply has responded, it is skewed to detached houses in more outer rings and regional areas and is highly uneven in our largest cities. We are still seeing that people want to live close to their families, friends, places of work and the amenity in their local communities. We need to not underestimate the importance of density done well and more housing choice if we want to grow our cities and recover strongly.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

After a long period of almost non-existence, rising inflation is present in many countries, including our own. While many price increases can be traced to supply-and-demand imbalances resulting from the pandemic, inflation could be assumed to ease next year, assuming no further escalation in variant risks. However, some factors, including energy prices and labour shortages could linger for a little longer. While global forces impact some pressures, our migration settings around the inflows of temporary or permanent visa holders, when it is safe and appropriate to do so, should be welcomed.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

One of the ways we stay competitive is by speaking to our customers and the wider community to understand their behaviours and the reasons behind it. When the pandemic first hit last year, our internal innovation team, Hatch, led a company-wide effort to understand the impact of the pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions, and crafted strategic responses for our different audiences. We interacted with our residential customers through virtual sales meetings and digital tours, and we were able to facilitate an increasing level of customisation through our digital platforms. In retail, we launched ‘WeShow’, an initiative designed to de-risk a brand’s entry into physical retail, whereby an online retailer can access a purpose-designed modular fit-out to reach new customers without the concerns of long leases, fixed rent or expensive store fit-outs.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

Just recently, Mirvac became the first property group in Australian to become net positive carbon in relation to scope 1 and 2, and we reached this milestone nine years ahead of our 2030 target. We achieved this by obsessing about energy efficiency, switching to 100 per cent renewables and finally purchasing a small amount of high quality Australian offsets.

 

We remain focused on designing homes that are more sustainable to run, including solar and battery, which reduces energy costs for our customers at the same time.

 

And another significant area of focus is to ensure we have 25 per cent recycled content in major materials such as concrete, steel and paper, and halving our development waste.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

We are anticipating a strong labour market for 2022, as sectors rebound post-lockdown and as we see cities, arts and hospitality breath again, fuelled in part by limited labour supply as a result of border closures and no skilled migration. As a result, we think it will be a candidate’s market and we anticipate seeing increased wage growth in 2022. Our sector has been running particularly hot, with strong demand for high-quality employees in the industry.

 

We are closely watching trends in the labour market, particularly the often talked about ‘Great Resignation’. In our view, some companies will face the Great Resignation when conditions are ripe: strong labour market; pent up demand from existing employees to get the next promotion, next pay rise, or new experiences; and employees who leave in search of an employer with a better workplace experience, a better manager, or a better culture.

We think employers that get these things right – those that have a clear sense purpose and belonging, and a culture of continual investment in career and learning – will be able to respond and retain key talent and capabilities.

 

The move to hybrid working will become the norm. This won’t be a significant change for Mirvac - flexible working was already well and truly embedded in the company before the pandemic – but we expect that in the future we will see more people opting to work from home at least 1-2 days a week.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

There’s no doubt that Covid-19 was challenging again for businesses across Australia this year, particularly for those in tourism and hospitality. However, business and government have worked together to address the challenges presented by the pandemic in a way like never before, which gives me optimism that we can continue to work together in the future and tackle even bigger problems, such as climate change and affordability.

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Sandeep Biswas, Newcrest

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

First, it’s really crucial we get on top of some of the supply chain issues businesses are facing, to ensure we have access to the goods and services we need. More flexible workplace relations policies including at our ports, more high-quality infrastructure such as rail, roads and energy supply and a smarter and more sustainable approach to labour supply will help.

 

We’ve made great strides with some borders re-opening, but clearly a key risk is around freedom of movement and the possibility of further restrictions, whether that’s within Australia or internationally.

 

It seems the most restrictive rules are behind us, but we’re still not there yet and freedom of movement is fundamental for us when it comes to operating a business across state and national borders.

 

In terms of risks, we’re also really vigilant when it comes to the managing and anticipating any rapid escalation in construction and materials costs. This means planning ahead and locking in contracts ahead of time where possible and also being a good customer so that suppliers want to work with you.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

Gold is typically seen as a hedge against inflation – so as a gold producer we are in the unique position of being able to benefit from higher prices for our commodities.

 

We are, however, also exposed to cost inflations where we operate, which requires us to actively manage this across the business.

 

Two important policy settings for us are around skilled migration and quality infrastructure. Australia has a great opportunity to encourage skilled migration as our borders reopen, and to build on the shift to regional areas like Orange that has taken place during Covid-19.

 

Focusing on attracting more young people into regional industries like mining and ensuring those parts of the country have access to quality infrastructure like roads, water and power is key.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

For us, Covid-19 actually led to us building stronger relationships with many of the local communities where we operate. People were clearly doing it tough, particularly in the rural, remote and regional areas we operate in, and were finding it difficult to access necessities like food and medical supplies, not to mention mental health support.

 

At the beginning of Covid-19 we looked at how we could support local people in really targeted, meaningful ways. So, in places like Canada we arranged fresh food hampers, mental and physical health initiatives and small business support in partnership with the First Nations communities. In Ecuador we worked with industry peers to supply 3 million syringes for the local vaccination program. And in Papua New Guinea we’ve helped upgrade two community health centres and nine aid posts, procure ventilator equipment, donated a new ambulance and worked with UNICEF to support the vaccine rollout – focused mainly on New Ireland Province.

 

The feedback from local communities has been tremendous and it’s been really rewarding for us and our workforce to help play a role in ensuring people facing tough times had support that worked for them.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

Earlier this year, we announced our goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 for our operational (Scope 1 and Scope 2) emissions and we also continue to work across our value chain to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

 

Sourcing low carbon power is a key action we are taking. Different solutions here will work for different sites, whether that is through power purchase agreements, alternative fuel types like green ammonia and green hydrogen, geothermal or on-site wind and solar energy, supplemented by battery storage.

 

We are also looking at ways to reduce energy usage through energy efficient processing techniques, waste heat capture and more fuel-efficient equipment.

 

We are working with our technology providers and partners to look at opportunities to convert fossil fuel-powered machinery to other sources, including our mining fleet.

 

And we continue to look at where we can use offsets both for our local and international operations.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

Our people have adjusted exceptionally to new ways of working over the past two years and flexibility is something we have invested in through technology and intend to keep. Looking ahead, we expect many of our office-based teams to have a mix of working from home and in the office, ensuring people get the best of both worlds.

 

Working together is a key value for us at Newcrest and maximising our time together, whilst also providing the flexibility that people want, means we can continue to collaborate, onboard new staff to ensure they are best placed to contribute and support each other as well.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

Governments across the country have really stepped up to the plate over the past two years. We’re thankful that governments have supported our industry to continue operating while keeping our workforce, their families and local communities safe.

 

And that’s also providing good outcomes for governments as well, because it means we have been able to keep people in jobs and keep taxes and royalties flowing to support investments into hospitals, schools and other infrastructure.

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Mark Fitzgibbon, NIB

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

• Borders close again due to latest Omicron variant for foreign students, workers and immigrants
• Lower household spending
• Faster and higher recovery in hospital treatment and claims than expected

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

I think inflation is confused by pandemic-related factors. Expect it to return to 2-3 per cent with slightly higher healthcare spending growth.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

Its heightened the attraction of private health insurance.

 

Its encouraged and accelerated investment in disease prevention/management especially in the development of data science and digital engagement.

 

It’s been the catalyst for our concerted move towards distributed working.

 

All factors are supporting our strategic intent and our competitiveness.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

While not a major emitter of greenhouse gases, we feel it’s still important that all businesses do their bit to address climate change. We’ve recently transitioned to renewable energy at all our locations, will be carbon neutral by end of the financial year and are mapping out our path towards net carbon zero.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

We’re encouraging our people to work from where they like, when they like through our distributed work model. It’s about providing employees with the flexibility to work how it suits them while also offering office hubs where people come together for collaboration, key meetings and social events.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

Both have performed exceptionally well in difficult conditions.

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Greg Hunt, Nufarm

What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

As a global agricultural business, the improvement in seasonal and market conditions has helped drive strong earnings growth this year and we have a positive outlook with good momentum continuing into the new financial year. Australia’s economic recovery from the pandemic has also been stronger and faster than many of us would have predicted this time last year.

 

The key risk I see going forward is failing to heed the lessons the pandemic has taught us.

 

The disruption we’ve seen over the past two years has highlighted the vulnerabilities of many companies to interruption in global supply chains. After decades of decline in our domestic manufacturing capability, Australia has become increasingly reliant on imports.

 

Ensuring continuity of supply across international and domestic supply chains is critical to Nufarm’s growth, and also the growth and prosperity of our economy. Reinvestment in critical manufacturing capacity and capability should be an ongoing priority for both the public and private sector.

 

At a business level we know the importance of diversification to help mitigate the potential impacts from disruptions, and this is equally important to national economic performance. Opening international borders will be an important step in restoring the health of our sectors such as tourism and education so they can fully contribute to our economic recovery.

 

Investment in R&D to drive innovation is a priority for growth in Nufarm, and also vital to grow the economy. Our success in linking business with research will play an important role in growth for Nufarm, and for our national economy.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nations’ macro-policy settings?

 

Price surges from labour shortages, rising energy costs , and supply chain disruptions have been prevalent themes across business in the past 12 months. For Nufarm these factors have largely been offset by other COVID-related cost savings or passed on to customers.

 

As economies start to emerge from lockdowns and demand grows, we’re seeing the supply side of the economy struggle to keep up – which is putting pressure on inflation and pushing up the price of imported goods coming into Australia.

 

The situation presents a clear case for further investment and support to strengthen Australia’s domestic manufacturing industry in order to improve our self-sufficiency and ensure we’re able to remain globally competitive.

As to the question of whether these cost pressures are transitory or whether it will lead to an extended period of inflation may well depend on consumer confidence in the determination, and ability, of central banks to effectively stabilise inflation rates over the medium term. Time will tell.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

There’s no doubt Covid-19 has disrupted global supply chains, and that has created very tight markets for crop protection, not just locally, but globally. We are fortunate to have been able to leverage our scale and global supply relationships to minimise the impact for our customers, and that has seen us grow business in select markets over this time.

 

Nufarm’s core purpose has remained to help farmers get more from their land, and with estimates predicting we’ll need to grow 70 per cent more food by 2050 to feed the close to 10 billion people who will be inhabiting the planet, there’s a clear need for services and products like ours. We have insights into the needs of farmers so we’re able to respond quickly and leverage scale and supply chain efficiency to be competitive.

 

Covid-19 has also accelerated technology adoption and that is creating new opportunities for how we engage with our employees, and how we engage with customers. We see exceptional opportunity in agriculture right now to serve new industries with solutions that support and address key global challenges, including sustainable farming, food security, and demand for renewable fuel sources.

 

Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19 the grains sector in particular continues to adapt, driving innovation, investment, and commercialisation to increase the scale of harvests. In Australia specifically, some expect the contribution of farm production to the economy to reach $100bn by 2030 (compared to the $66bn measured by ABARES in 2021).

 

What are three changes you are making to address climate change?

 

Our seed technologies business is creating crops that positively impact global environmental issues, including climate change. Nuseed Carinata is an independently certified, scalable and sustainable non-food oilseed cover crop used in the production of low-carbon fuel. It reduces emissions by replacing fossil fuels, removing atmospheric carbon, and restoring soil carbon as it grows and improves soil health. Grown between main crops, Nuseed Carinata generates extra income for growers from existing farmland and rewards certified sustainable farming practices.

 

Our crop protection products enable sustainable farming practices such as no-tillage farming which reduces on-farm fuel consumption by up to 60 per cent, significantly contributes to carbon sequestering, retains soil moisture, and reduces erosion. Over 23 per cent of our existing product portfolio comprises products that enable more sustainable farming practices. In the coming year we will direct nearly 20 per cent of our research and development budget to sustainable crop protection products, including biologicals.

 

Reducing the impact of our own operations has also become a much more urgent imperative and we are working toward achieving a 30 per cent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from our manufacturing sites by 2030.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are you plans around working from home for employees?

 

Border restrictions are likely to continue to impact labour availability and flexibility in 2022. As an essential business, we’ve been fortunate to retain a high degree of continuity for our workforce. This of course has included much more flexible arrangements for employees who are not required to work at site, and I can’t see us going back to the old ways of working where there is a set expectation for employees to be in the office five days a week. Flexibility has become a much bigger part of our culture.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

In terms of international comparison, the economic response from Australia’s governments has been very good.

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Sarah Hunter, Officeworks

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

Broadly, we’re optimistic about the retail market and our prospects for 2022.

 

Of course, Covid-19 continues to cast a shadow over Australia, and there’s the risk of variants causing ongoing disruption to everyday life and therefore to business and retail.

 

The availability of skilled workers in tech, (customer experience) and data will continue to be important as we evolve our every-channel model. This is an emerging issue not just in retail but in all almost all sectors grappling with digital business transformation.

 

Linked to Covid-19, ongoing global supply shortages of some products as well as international shipping disruptions impacted stock availability in some categories this year. Heading into 2022, we remain focused on managing stock availability and a strong delivery service to ensure customers’ needs are fulfilled.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

Out of necessity, the disruption caused by Covid-19 sparked innovation in the way we work and in our product and service offering – from an emphasis on work from home products in technology and home office furniture, through to managing increased delivery volumes.

 

This has ultimately resulted in several new business initiatives – including our new flexible working policy, and the acceleration of broader business improvements, continued investment in our every-channel model, enhancing supply chain capabilities, and expanding our presence in the education, business-to-business and work from home segments.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

Officeworks is committed to taking meaningful climate action including reducing our carbon emissions, and to operating as sustainably as possible through our long-term People & Planet Positive strategy and commitments.

Some of our key People and Planet Positive 2025 commitments include:

• We’ve set ourselves a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030, and we achieved a 72 per cent reduction in our carbon emissions from the previous FY.
• We’re working toward becoming a zero waste business (we’re currently at a 91 per cent recycling rate).
• Our partnership with Greening Australia reached a one-millionth-tree-planted milestone this year, and our Greener Choices product initiative has resulted in almost 2000 sustainable products in our range.
• Our experience at Officeworks shows us that by addressing social and environmental issues that are most material to our business, we can deliver meaningful sustainability related value creation.

More recently, we pledged our support to the the Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia and the Australian Retailers Association to accelerate the Race To Zero movement in the retail industry. Our aim is to drive climate action and encourage other retailers to set out their plans to achieve 1.5 degree aligned carbon reduction targets.

 

Collectively, the retail sector serves millions of Australians every day, so the choices that we make can have an enormous impact beyond what we can directly control. From powering our operations with 100 per cent renewable energy, to reducing emissions associated with how we source, design, manufacture, and transport products, to helping our customers make more sustainable choices. By working together as an industry, we can demonstrate the leadership and action needed to limit the worst impacts of climate change.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

The current retail hiring market is challenging, although we’re not experiencing dramatic shortages in team roles thanks to good employee retention. We see the movement of people in the market as an opportunity to attract new talent to Officeworks.

 

Industry-wide retail employment shortages are emerging, and we believe there are several factors at play. Due to travel restrictions, there’s a shortage of international students and travellers available for casual roles, especially in regional areas. In Sydney and Melbourne specifically, many people have experienced extended lockdowns and are looking for changes in both locations and jobs. We may see increased job movement in the retail sector in the new year, after people have taken a break.

 

Countering these trends, school leavers are not traveling, so they’re filling some of our additional seasonal roles, and we’re seeing loyalty and retention within our existing teams. Additionally, as Officeworks has expanded its range of products – such as art, craft and tech – we’ve attracted team members with specific interests in these fields, so we’ve been able to recruit from a larger pool of interested candidates.

 

Team retention remains a high priority for Officeworks. We’re focused on building a strong and inclusive culture and offering our team internal opportunities to develop their career within the business, supported by training. We’ve continued to invest in ensuring our team have safe working environments and we’ve supported their wellness during the past two years through access to an Employee Assistance Program and through a physical and mental health program, Moving Mindz.

 

Through team surveys, we’ve identified that offering flexibility is key and we’ve updated our policies to reflect our team’s changing expectations to achieve a better work/life balance.

 

We’ve launched our ‘flexible working’ policy and will see the role of the office change. We want it to be a space that is set up for collaboration, connection, inspiration, learning, reflection and networking with team mates but also suppliers and partners.

 

For our own teams, Covid-19 has nudged us toward accelerating into new ways of working. Our support team members have again spent most of the year working from home, but on the bright side we’ve discovered a sweet spot between office and flexible work locations that’s both efficient and good for our team’s work life balance.

 

Our team really is our greatest asset, they’ve shown a lot of resilience as they’ve adapted to the ever-changing operating environment and the ways we can help inspire our customers to work, learn, create and connect.

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Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Optus

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

We need to up-skill and re-skill our people to face into the new economy where tech skills, data skills and innovation skills are in short supply.

 

We need to shore up the wellbeing and confidence of our people after what has been a very tough couple of years.

 

While borders are opening up, many supplies are on backorder and certainty of supply chains remain a global challenge.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

The macro-economic settings in Australia are sound and our focus should be to drive sustainable growth, productivity improvements and job creation. Critical to this will be how we incentivise investment in new digital infrastructure and build the capability to achieve our vision to be a leading digital economy.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

It has been rewarding to see our telco sector rise to the challenge of keeping Australia connected, and playing such a vital role in peoples’ lives. We are staying competitive by reinventing what our sector means for customers and using our technology know-how to raise the bar and tap into new ways to meet customer needs with our unique industry-disruptive Living Network and its world-first innovative features.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

We are:

• Reducing our carbon footprint and wastage, for example through encouraging the use of eSims which saves unnecessary plastic
• Continuing to encourage recycling of phones, including introducing Donate Your Device which will allow customers to donate their old devices to disadvantaged young people who need the phones to access our Donated Data so they are not left behind by the Digital Divide and simultaneously saves these phones from landfill.
• Continuing to optimise our electricity usage while still ensuring a resilient, reliable network for our customers.

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

At Optus, our people are our best asset. For a tech company like us, hiring top talent is critical, so we partner with universities to nurture this talent, and we have invested in Optus University to ensure we continue that journey with micro-credentials and continuous up-skilling.

 

We introduced “Blended Ways of Working” which aims to combine the best of flexible work-from-home with the best of in-person collaboration. It means that teams nominate 2-3 days a week to be at work together, and then provide flexibility to those who want it on the other 2-3 days. Optus is a company that is energised by being around one another, and we are lucky to have a wonderful campus with lots of outdoor workspaces that provide our teams lots of great options!

 

How would you rate business, State and Federal Government performance this year?

 

We are proud to be Australian and our governments have done us proud. The challenges of the past two years weren’t anticipated, and while we may not have been prepared, we definitely made up ground quickly and recovered from any mis-steps. Australia is on strong footing as the world reopens, and that is the evidence that we’ve performed well. The one area I’d really like to see more movement is in opening, and keeping open, state borders. To really run a national business well, movement of talent and management and consistent rules across states is extremely desirable – I mean I just went to Singapore and London but I can’t get to Perth!

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Frank Calabria, Origin Energy

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

We expect to see a strong rebound of the Australian economy in 2022 and business remains optimistic, with an uptick in activity in NSW and Victoria since restrictions began lifting.

 

The three main risks to a recovery are:

• Confidence and certainty, which have been battered by significant economic and social disruption over the past two years, and without which businesses find it very challenging to plan and invest for long-term growth.
• Labour market constraints and continued supply shocks, with the economy having lost a significant number of people from the workforce since March 2020. We need to encourage these workers back into the employment market, while the lifting of border restrictions is important as it allows an injection of highly skilled migrants.
• Finding the right balance between responsible monetary policy and the impacts it may have on the economy, given high amounts of government and household debt.

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

In the context of energy, we are seeing significant price volatility in Europe and the UK especially, and there could be important lessons for other markets including Australia in carefully considering the appropriateness of policy settings when it comes to the energy transition. Post COP26, we also need leadership and the right policy settings across the economy to put Australia on a path to net zero by 2050 and enable economic opportunities such as the export of green fuels.

 

On the economy more broadly, we must take steps to make our labour market more flexible and address skills shortages to support economic growth, including through skilled migration.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

The energy transition that has been underway for some time has accelerated as a result of Covid-19, and particularly through the rapid adoption of technology that might otherwise have taken years to achieve.

 

We are focussed on the successful migration of all Origin’s electricity and gas customers to the Kraken platform to enable a vastly improved customer experience and step change reduction in costs. We are also expanding our use of AI and advanced data analytics, to support faster and better decision making, from how we manage and predict production from gas wells through to aggregation of decentralised energy sources, to support grid reliability and avoid unnecessary investment in infrastructure.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

Origin is leading the energy transition, both through reducing our own emissions and in providing easier, cleaner and smarter energy solutions to our customers to help them decarbonise.

 

Our three primary areas of focus are:

• Lowering our own emissions, with short-term reduction targets linked to executive remuneration, medium term targets and a long-term aim to be net zero by 2050.
• Providing innovative solutions like our Spike demand management platform that uses gamification to incentivise energy savings, our virtual power plant Loop that allows us to share benefits through managing customers’ energy assets in the home, and Origin 360 EV Feet which accelerates the adoption of EVs by businesses, giving customers the tools to manage their energy use, costs and emissions. We are also working directly with many of our commercial and industrial customers to provide solutions to help them decarbonise as they increasingly adopt their own aggressive emissions reduction targets.
• Progressing potential investments in renewables, batteries and storage, and green hydrogen and ammonia, to support the continued uptake of renewables in the NEM and enable the switching out of higher emissions energy sources for lower emissions energy sources.

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

It will be a highly competitive labour market in 2022, and probably more so because continued uncertainty around our international borders may mean talented potential migrants may be reluctant to consider Australia.

Origin will continue to support hybrid ways of working in 2022, providing staff with the flexibility to work from home and in the office. We know flexibility is valued by our people and helps ensure we can attract and retain talented people, and we also continue to see benefits from collaboration and connection in the office.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

Through a challenging period, governments have rightly prioritised the health response and support for those individuals and businesses most affected. A consequence of the extended lockdowns in some states has been the impact on mental health and that will need to be addressed as a priority through more funding for programs specifically addressing mental health.

 

For Origin specifically, we delivered a solid performance this year and generated strong cash flow that allowed us to further reduce debt, invest in growth opportunities and deliver returns to shareholders.

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Andrew Cole, OZ Minerals

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

OZ Minerals defines risks and opportunities and threats. We’re guided by our purpose, “Going beyond what’s possible to make lives better” and believe that only when we create value for all our stakeholders will we be successful and sustainable.

 

Culturally and strategically, we want to advance in a number of areas, which translate into three risk ‘themes’ for OZ Minerals:

• Culture as IP – We want to strengthen our culture as a modern mining company. This includes building an inclusive environment that helps us value difference in thinking, workstyles, experiences and demographics; so different perspectives and contributions from everyone are actively sought and welcomed. Our culture will help us develop the capability and resilience we need to operate in and navigate a fast evolving future.
• Responsible operator and producer – Strong ethical, environmental and social performance helps us meet or exceed stakeholder expectations and comply with regulations. We recognise the need to do our part in addressing Modern Slavery, a global issue that business has an important role in addressing and preventing. We are also in the process of developing our decarbonisation roadmap to support our strategic aspiration to emit zero Scope 1 emissions and strive to systemically reduce Scope 2 & 3 emissions across our value chain.
• Agility and innovation – We want to be agile in The OZWay of operating so we can adapt quickly to threats and opportunities, make innovation easier where our people are encouraged to develop, ideas and collaborate with others in the business, across the sector and across industries, and be data driven where we gather and use data and create insights into our business for faster, better and more creative decision-making that also reduces manual processes.

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

It has been a challenge for the industry this year. For a short while, confidence in both supply and demand was lacking due to the uncertainty around the pandemic. Covid-19 has impacted upon production levels, particularly in Chile. A little closer to home, workforce shortages our industry have driven inflation – we’ve observed this especially in specialist areas – and we’ve been managing it at our operations. We’ll leave the rating of the nation’s macro-policy settings to the experts to comment on.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

Many countries recognised mining as an essential service, so activities have continued albeit with the appropriate modifications according to health and government guidelines. Throughout Covid-19, we worked in accordance with government restrictions relating to essential workers and implemented strict Covid-19 management plans.

 

We have taken the opportunity of the disruption to accelerate our strategic priorities and have moved at pace towards flexible working, being data driven and achieving our decarbonisation goals. We have also begun work on our growth projects including expansions at Prominent Hill and Carrapateena.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

OZ Minerals recognises that climate change is a shared global challenge that requires business, government and society to work together. We support the goals of the Paris Agreement and are currently developing our decarbonisation roadmap in line with our Strategic Aspiration to emit zero scope 1 emissions and systematically reduce scope 2 and 3 emissions.

 

Our asset teams are building decarbonisation plans from the ground. We are also a public supporter of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and are implementing the framework to understand and manage the opportunities and threats associated with climate change and the transition to a low carbon economy.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

We have an aspiration to work with the best talent and capability no matter where it resides, driving an outcome-based organisation. Over the past few years, even before Covid-19, we sought to normalise and systematise flexible and remote work for our workforce.

 

We will continue to focus on improving and maturing our approach to giving our people choice in how and when they work, so they are empowered to organise their work around their lives.

 

The workforce of the future is changing. Understanding the future skills, training and technology trends in the Australian minerals industry will help us improve and in turn, deliver a more globally competitive minerals sector.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

We recognise our responsibility to meaningfully contribute to regional economic and social wellbeing as stronger communities create value for all stakeholders.

 

Our constructive contribution to policy development creates shared understanding and sustainable outcomes. Within this environment we are able to advocate with all levels of government to help make lives better for our stakeholders on things they’ve told us matter.

 

Once again, we’ll leave the rating of the nation’s governments to the experts.

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Alan Joyce, Qantas

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

The greatest challenge to the recovery is the patchwork approach to reopening that we’re seeing with each state and territory putting their own twist on travel requirements. Hopefully we’ll see things normalise, especially the requirement for PCR testing at every turn, as we get more confident about managing new variants and living with the virus in the months ahead, given our fantastic vaccination rates.

 

Secondly, it’s going to take years for the travel and tourism sector to fully recover, so we need to make sure we get the broader policy settings right to ensure there’s a sustained recovery. We’ve seen some concerning examples of airports overseas trying to claw back their losses during Covid-19 by significantly increasing passenger fees, and that would hurt the entire tourism sector if that was allowed to happen here as well.

 

And thirdly, there’s a real challenge facing aviation in Australia and globally if we don’t make meaningful progress to reduce our emissions. Reducing our impact on the planet is fundamentally the right thing to do, and customers and investors will increasingly avoid airlines that don’t. It’s an area that we have significant focus on over the next few months as we finalise our path towards net zero by 2050, including interim 2030 targets.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

We think airfares for both domestic and international will generally be similar or less than they were before the pandemic. We want to make sure all of our people are back at work and aircraft in the sky, so we’re doing a lot to stimulate demand. For instance, Jetstar’s had fares as low as $22, which is less than most people pay for an Uber to the airport. Qantas recently had its entire domestic network on sale and has had some very sharp fares as we relaunched international.

 

The federal government has provided a lot of stimulus to the economy and that has positioned Australia for a swift recovery as the economy opens up.

 

Now that Australia is on track to have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, it puts us in a much better position to manage uncertainty around variants and seasonal surges.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

Covid-19 has resulted in the biggest shake up of the Australian aviation sector since the Ansett collapse more than 20 years ago. It’s forced airlines to reshape their business, which means the competitive landscape is going to be very different post Covid-19.

 

For the Qantas Group, we expect Covid-19 will have cost us more than $20 billion in revenue by the end of this year. To stay competitive we’ve had to make a number of really tough decisions to restructure and right-size the business and we’ve also had to get better at making much faster decisions given how quickly the Covid-19 situation evolved.

 

We’ve launched more than 50 new domestic routes since the start of the pandemic in response to changed patterns of demand, which is a level of progress that I wouldn’t have thought was possible two years ago. It’s a way of working we’re going to take well beyond the pandemic.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

We committed to a net zero emissions target by 2050 a few years ago and were only the second airline to do so. We’re currently working through a roadmap to get us to that point, including interim 2030 targets that we’ll share in the coming months.

 

We’re working with industry and partners to establish a domestic Sustainable Aviation Fuel sector in Australia. We’re also finalising our first significant purchase of SAF and we’ll have more to say on that soon.

 

We’re investing in next generation aircraft, including our narrow-body fleet replacement, which will cut emissions by around 15 per cent.

 

We’re offsetting the emissions from our flights as well as rewarding customers who make more sustainable choices both at home and in the air through our new ‘Green Tier’ initiative.

 

Finally we’re continually working to reduce fuel burn through smarter flight planning and operations.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

There are obviously benefits of working from home but through lockdowns we discovered there are a lot of things that are harder without face-to-face contact. We’ll obviously retain some flexibility but our plan is still to have busy, vibrant offices where people are able to collaborate and have those corridor conversations that are so important, both socially and professionally.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

I don’t think anyone envies the decisions governments were faced with this year. And I think the phrase that there’s no such thing as perfection in a pandemic is spot on. The federal government got the settings right, especially when it came to avoiding the worst social and economic impacts of people not being able to work during lockdowns.

 

There were obviously some challenges getting the vaccine rollout going but the final result is fantastic, which is a credit to both the Feds and the States. And leadership shown by NSW on opening up to international travel with no quarantine deserves to be recognised.

 

The patchwork approach to borders from the various state and territory governments has been the biggest challenge. Thankfully they stuck to their re-opening plans even in the face of Omicron and hopefully the requirement to have a PCR test if you want to cross most internal borders will come off after Christmas.

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Paul Digney, Qube

Markets are strong, borders are opening. What are the three top risks to recovery and growth of your company and Australia?

 

As Australia’s leading integrated logistics company with operations in every state and territory, Qube is at the centre of the national supply chain. Clearly, the number one challenge in 2022 will be overcoming the supply chain blockages which have arisen as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

The global imbalance of containers is causing ongoing disruption across industries in Australia with imports slowed, exports booming and international freight rates soaring. As the leading operator of container ports, trains, trucks and container handling facilities our whole business will be focussed on easing the delays and congestion which could threaten the national economic recovery. A lot of the issues are beyond our control but as MD I’ve emphasised to everyone the need to focus on efficiency and flexibility. I think we’ve done well so far but there’s lot more work to do if we are going to keep the economy on track.

 

How do you view inflation and how do you rate the nation’s macro-policy settings?

 

Inflation is clearly an emerging threat but I have to take my lead from the Reserve Bank. They seem pretty relaxed for now with a sanguine view about Australia’s inflation outlook. Clearly everyone will be watching the US data to see if their inflation keeps spiking upwards. For the moment its very much a wait and see game. I think the macro settings are balanced and about right given the wider market dynamics.

 

How has disruption/innovation through Covid-19 affected your sector and how can you stay competitive?

 

For the supply chain industry I think during Covid-19 it has been a matter of get innovative or get left behind. The pandemic has brought out some brilliant innovation at Qube and not just for the Covid-19 response but innovation that we will build on to create further efficiencies in our business and in our safety goals. Innovation to us isn’t about needing less people to do the work but meaning we can continue to grow our value chains for our customers with the support of technology and innovation plays a big part in that.

 

What three changes are you making to address climate change?

 

Qube continues to be focused on building a sustainable business for the long-term. This means an organisation that not only benefits our customers and shareholders, but is committed to reducing our environmental impact and helping contribute to a better world In 2021 we reviewed our strategy against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs aim to address some of the world’s priority economic, social and environmental challenges.

 

From this review, Qube has identified our primary goals in terms of the SDGs to report against : Decent work and economic growth, climate action responsible consumption and production. Also KPMG was engaged to investigate the options available for achieving a Low Carbon Future. Following on from the findings from the KPMG report , Qube will investigate the options to understand and define the financial and operational implications this includes working with customers, OEM’s and energy suppliers to better understand these impacts will enable Qube to adopt a longer-term carbon goal and a sustainable strategy to address a Low Carbon Future ensuring that targets set will be achievable.

 

How do you see the jobs market for 2022 and what are your plans around working from home for employees?

 

Obviously there’s going to be a huge demand for skilled and unskilled workers in 2022. At Qube currently we are recruiting for more than 150 vacancies around Australia.

 

As a logistics business with over 7000 employees the vast majority are needed to be physically at work operating the ports, trains, trucks and container yards. However Qube has always been a company which is highly de-centralised at a corporate level. This means the majority of management have and will continue to work from home for some of the time or adopt more of a hybrid approach with time split between the office and home, if it is practical for them to do so. However there’s no one size fits all solution.

 

How would you rate business, state and federal government performance this year?

 

Personally I think Australian businesses have responded brilliantly to the unique challenges they faced from the pandemic.

 

Constantly going in and out of lockdowns at various times in various states was a nightmare for any business and especially for a logistics business like Qube servicing a broad customer base and managing multiple stakeholders. Next year I think we are going to see a massive rebound in economic activity led by businesses big and SME. The challenge will be keeping up with the demand. As to the performance of Governments, I think they all believed in what they were doing for their respective states but the time has come for everyone to remember Australia works best when the Federation is working…The time for border wars is over.

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