BCA keen to bank Covid progress

Having come through the pandemic better than expected, business leaders are also concerned about avoiding complacency.

BCA President Tim Reed. Picture: Nikki Short

Australia business was growing in confidence about the outlook for the economy, according to Business Council of Australia president Tim Reed.

But having come through the pandemic better than expected, business leaders are also concerned about the need to avoid complacency.

“Confidence is growing across the community because we’ve made extraordinary gains in managing this pandemic together,” Mr Reed told The Australian ahead of a dinner to be held in Sydney on Monday night.

“Our next challenge is locking in those gains so we can live alongside the virus.”

The BCA dinner, a gathering of some 400 people, will be the first major gathering of business leaders since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Last year’s annual BCA dinner had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr Reed said Australia had been able to get through the pandemic so far because of an extraordinary level of co-operation between state and federal government, business and other community groups.

He said the dinner, which will be addressed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, would seek to recognise work done in the community.

“We’re also reflecting on a year of unprecedented co-operation that saw us working with state and federal governments, unions, charities and environmental groups, to keep people safe and as many people in jobs as possible,” he said.

The event will include the naming of the inaugural winner of The Biggies award which was launched by the BCA to recognise businesses that give back to the community.

Winners of the awards will be announced on Monday night and The Australian will publish a special issue of The Deal, celebrating the awards, on Tuesday.

“This year, businesses of all shapes and sizes have demonstrated that they’re the glue that keeps communities together,” Mr Reed said.

“The Biggies are about demonstrating that business doesn’t sit on the sidelines”.

“We play a critical role keeping communities together and making Australia stronger by creating jobs, training and skilling employees and investing in the future.”

Coca-Cola Amatil chief executive Alison Watkins, who is also a member of the Reserve Bank board, said that Australia had come through the pandemic better than many had expected.

“The economic data we have seen is encouraging,” she told The Australian.

“The latest unemployment figures were good and the bounce back in growth in growth in GDP has been really encouraging.”

“But it is still early days and we have got questions about the vaccine rollout and how effective they will be and the timing of the reopening of international borders.”

“But for us as a country we need to focus on how we attract new investment and talent to Australia. We need to make the most of our advantages and not risk any complacency creeping in because we are seeing good rebound.

“We have got an opportunity to double down and we should double down.”