2020 CEO Survey: Owen Wilson, REA

Making childcare more affordable could provide a significant productivity boost for Australia, says REA chief Owen Wilson.

What are the three enduring lessons or changes to flow from COVID-19?

For many organisations, COVID-19 accelerated the shift to flexible working in a way that had previously seemed impossible. Moving forward, employers and employees will move to a hybrid-model including a combination of office-based, and virtual or home based-working, built on the foundations of trust and flexibility.

New customer needs and consumer behaviours as a result of COVID-19 restrictions have seen a rapid migration to digital technologies across all industries and sectors. The property sector is no exception, with new innovations such as digital property inspections experiencing incredible uptake since launch and something that is also here to stay.

Throughout COVID-19, industry collaboration was stronger than ever. For example, in partnership with Victoria’s property industry, we provided the data to convince the state government to reconsider the continued ban on property inspections in Melbourne. This ban was lifted a month earlier than anticipated. I am certainly looking forward to taking this collaboration to the next level in 2021.

How would you rate the shape of the Australian economy as we head into the new year?

All things considered, the economy is in reasonable shape given the shock it has had this year. The government’s fiscal support packages have been vital and, likewise, the Reserve Bank’s moves to lower the cost of borrowing and increase liquidity have also been very beneficial. It still seems unlikely that the economy will be operating at full strength in the near term, and some sectors will continue to struggle (e.g. tourism and education). While government stimulus and bank liquidity continue, I am optimistic that 2021 will be a good year, particularly if a vaccine allows international visitors to return.

What three reforms are needed to sustainably grow the economy?

Taxation reform is required to remove inefficient taxes such as stamp duty, as the NSW state government has announced. A broader land tax for everyone makes more sense and would give governments increased revenue certainty. Payroll tax is also regressive, acting as a “cost” on jobs, while disincentivising businesses to invest in employees.

One of Australia’s greatest resources is its people. In many cases it is women that have to put their career on hold or work fewer hours than they would like because the cost of childcare is so prohibitive. Making childcare more affordable could provide a significant productivity boost to the Australian economy and free-up labour that is currently untapped or not fully utilised.

With global economies being forced to revert to local due to paralysed global supply chains, incentives for niche manufacturing in Australia should be offered in a post COVID-19 world. For example, Australia’s comparative advantage in renewable energy, solar in particular, could provide a global leadership opportunity.

What are the three best growth opportunities for your company in 2021?

Our investment in India’s Elara Technologies presents exciting growth opportunities for REA and our shareholders. India is the world’s fastest growing trillion-dollar economy experiencing rapid digitalisation and Elara is well placed to become the country’s number one digital real estate business.

Expanding REA’s rent offering is core to our strategy of building next generation marketplaces. Ultimately, we want to create an ecosystem where we can seamlessly connect property managers, tenants and landlords through innovative products and experiences that deliver a more efficient consumer experience and improved customer value.

We see exciting opportunities right across our product set to help agents and agencies grow their businesses by introducing them to more potential customers. The pace in which digital solutions are being adopted by the industry places REA in a great position to connect our customers with more prospective sellers and landlords, and then go on to win, list, sell and lease their properties.

What impact will digital transformation have on your company?

Our whole company is based on digital transformation. We see significant opportunities to further digitise the rental process in Australia removing pain points for agents and tenants and also to digitise the mortgage application process using open banking.

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

Business has been incredibly resilient and adaptable. Many businesses have accelerated the reform of their models in a way that would not have happened but for COVID-19.

State government performance has been very mixed. While the ultimate health outcomes were good, the economic impact was greater than it needed to be. More flexible health restrictions could have enabled more businesses to continue to operate, particularly in Victoria.

The federal government performance was exceptional. Establishing the national cabinet showed great leadership. Fast, targeted, and meaningful stimulus measures such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker, saved our economy from a potentially terrible outcome. The contribution of the RBA should not be forgotten. The liquidity it provided banks and the cuts to interest rates ensured our banking sector was able to support business and consumers through the worst of the impact.