Unity push ahead of Chalmers’ economic summit

Businesses, tech firms, universities and welfare groups are working to build consensus on a reform program for Jim Chalmers’ tax and growth summit next month as the opposition warns the treasurer not to use a government-authored agenda to predetermine the outcome.

With the three-day roundtable a month away, Labor is rushing to form a written agenda with themes and policy areas to guide the talks as Coalition frontbencher Andrew Bragg and teal MP Allegra Spender moved to set up their own duelling parallel inquiries on boosting living standards.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has emphasised the need for consensus. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Politicians returned to Canberra on Monday and momentum is rising across the political spectrum to fix Australia’s dire level of productivity, which former treasury secretary Ken Henry says has cost as much as $500,000 per person over the past 25 years.

But all eyes will be on Chalmers in the lead-up to the summit over August 19-21. The treasurer has urged interest groups to come with ideas that can draw broad support after years of gridlock on proposals that often create loud groups of opponents.

Early signs of potential co-operation have emerged as the influential Australian Council of Social Services has started corralling union and business groups to discuss shared priorities for Labor to then potentially pursue legislation, according to Labor and business sources.

No formal agreements have yet been struck, but Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said he was keen to meet with all involved in the roundtable.

The corporate lobby group is preparing to submit proposals on behalf of a group including the Tech Council of Australia and Universities Australia on tax reform, red tape, and speeding up planning and major project approvals.

“We want to engage with every participant at this roundtable, to understand their priorities and explore where common ground can be found and where there are clear disagreements,” Black said.

Politicians have generally failed to achieve long-lasting economic reform since the Hawke, Keating and Howard governments due to a mix of political turbulence and big-spending negative campaigns from vested interests.

Chalmers again emphasised the need for consensus as he faced pressure to change the tax mix to lower Australia’s reliance on income and company taxes and potentially examine a lift in the GST to pay for such measures.

“We are looking for good ideas and consensus and we’d encourage roundtable participants to try and build some of that consensus before we all sit down around the cabinet table,” Chalmers said in a statement.

The Australian Conservation Foundation, in a submission to the roundtable to be sent to Chalmers this week, calls for a beefed-up environmental act and a carbon price – an idea Henry supports.

“Even without a price on carbon, the shadow price imposed through the Safeguard Mechanism is undermined by subsidies for fossils fuel usage through mechanisms like the fuel tax credit scheme,” the foundation’s submission states.

Henry also supports taxing fossil fuel exports to raise about $50 billion a year. Economists and green groups have also argued in favour of raising taxes on oil and gas firms.

West Australian mining companies successfully campaigned against the Rudd government’s mining tax and joined with the state WA Labor government last term to pressure the federal government to go slow on new environmental protections.

Bragg, the Coalition’s spokesman on productivity, will introduce in the Senate a motion to launch a two-year bipartisan inquiry into ailing rates of economic growth and efficiency.

Bragg’s colleague, shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien, has accepted an invitation to attend the roundtable.

“If the government is serious about productivity, they will support a proper longer-term process to develop and analyse productivity concepts and to hold their own ambition to account via an established, respected process of the national parliament,” Bragg said.

“The root causes of our negative productivity position is more likely to be uncovered and simultaneously understood by the community over years rather than days.”

Labor needs support from either the Coalition or the Greens to get legislation through the Senate.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions declined to comment. The Australian Council of Social Services was contacted for comment.

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