Corporate Australia will take a vicious swipe at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese by accusing his new industrial relations laws of taking the nation backwards.
Business Council of Australia (BCA) chief executive Bran Black is set to tell Mr Albanese in a speech on Tuesday night that leaders of many major companies ‘feel we are losing our way’ economically under Labor.
‘Instead of taking the big steps on the things that matter, we are taking incremental – but noticeable – steps backwards,’ Mr Black will tell attendees at a dinner put on by the lobby group, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers will also attend.
‘I’ve spoken to many CEOs who have said they are far more cautious about hiring after the government’s raft of recent workplace changes.’
Mr Black will take aim at Labor’s sweeping new industrial relations laws that will see the return of sector bargaining for wages and conditions. The new laws also include a controversial ‘right to disconnect’ or ignore bosses’ calls after work hours.
This will put jobs at risk, according to Mr Black.
‘For a good job to be well-paid, it has to exist first,’ he will tell the Prime Minister.
‘Abolishing multi-employer bargaining must be seen as a priority in this regard.
Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black (pictured) is set to tell Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that the nation is taking ‘step backwards’ under his government
‘We must get back as quickly as possible to having employers and employees reach agreements for their workplaces that reflect the fact that every business is unique, rather than seeing more top-down, one-size-fits-all approaches to policy.’
Mr Black will warn that Australia is being weighed down by red tape with public spending and debt threatening to swamp future prosperity.
‘Nothing we have seen seriously proposed by any side of politics in recent times would significantly alter that projection,’ he will say.
‘We’re past the opportunity for incremental steps, and so the only thing that will matter is bold steps in policy.
‘We’re steadily increasing, not removing, regulation – making it harder to run a business.’
The CEO will also take aim at the Coalition over a Nationals-led push to break up Australian companies, such as forcing Qantas to divest budget carrier Jetstar.
‘We see ideas on the table to force our best-performing companies to divest, notwithstanding review after independent review says this is the wrong way to go,’ Mr Black will say.
‘And we’ve seen so-called Robin Hood proposals to impose even greater taxes on our success. All of this reduces our competitiveness as a nation.
‘And the upshot is best illustrated by the fact that I now have members – major employers – who are now actively choosing to invest overseas rather than in Australia.’
When asked about the speech, Mr Albanese (pictured with his partner Jodie Haydon) stressed the points his government has in common with the Business Council of Australia
Mr Black will also outline five key areas of concern for the BCA that it wishes to see parties committed to addressing during the federal election next year.
They are the high cost-of-living, the housing crisis, targeting net zero CO2 emissions, the cost of aged care and the ongoing skills shortage.
When asked about Mr Black’s comments on Tuesday, Mr Albanese stressed that the BCA and his government had the same five priorities.
‘That’s a good thing, that we’re in sync on what the priorities are,’ he said.
Mr Albanese said his government had created over one million jobs and supported higher wages, ‘continued growth,’ and a ‘continued rise in business investment’.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth accused business groups of ‘posturing’ ahead of next year’s federal poll.
She said the government was ‘working with business across the board’ to enhance productivity but fairness to workers was a key part of this equation.
‘We have actually ensured that there’s balance there when it comes to negotiating pay and conditions, and what we’ve actually seen is industrial action down and wages up,’ she told Channel Nine ahead of Mr Black’s speech.
‘That’s a good thing for workers, but it’s also a good thing for business.’
The BCA represents many of Australia’s largest companies including BHP, Hancock Prospecting, the big four banks and accounting firms, Wesfarmers, Coles, Woolworths, Telstra, Atlassian and Qantas.
