Business groups, unions, federal ministers, and non-government organisations will gather at Parliament next week for the Economic Reform Roundtable.
Four-day workweeks, taxes on electric vehicle drivers, and overhauling construction rules are all on the agenda.
The roundtable will also include discussions about how to address challenges presented by AI.
Roundtable
Roundtables are conferences of top-level experts and leaders in Government and NGOs.
The Government hosted a similar event exploring “jobs and skills” in 2022.
It was followed by changes to industrial relations law, including the legalisation of the “right to disconnect”.
Business groups and the Coalition have since called the previous summit a “stitch-up”.
The economic roundtable will take place on 19-21 August in Parliament.
Heads of the Government’s economic bodies will attend, including the Reserve Bank and the Treasury.
The guest list also includes union bosses, business leaders, economists, experts, interest groups, and other politicians, such as independent MP Allegra Spender and Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien.
The Government wants to discuss changes to taxes and ideas to improve productivity (increasing output from the same number of hours worked).
4-day week?
The top union body, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), has suggested some workplaces should phase in a four-day workweek.
The ACTU cited a recent study of 141 companies’ trial of a four-day week, saying it showed the policy “boosts performance, reduces burnout and improves employee health and retention”.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday it is unlikely the Government would adopt the proposal.
EV drivers
An electric vehicle (EV) road user tax is likely to be discussed at the roundtable.
Currently, petrol car drivers pay a ‘fuel excise’ (tax) of 51.6 cents per litre.
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A similar style of tax has been floated for EV drivers, with Chalmers saying he’s been “really clear” about addressing the proposal as more people buy these cars.
Recent data from the Australian Automobile Association showed a jump in EV purchases over the past three months, accounting for nearly 10% of all car sales.
Construction
Treasury documents leaked to the ABC reportedly show the Government anticipates a “freeze” on changes to the national construction code could be an outcome of the roundtable, in a bid to build more houses.
The code sets out energy efficiency and environmental standards for builders. It is updated every three years.
Ahead of the last election, the Coalition proposed freezing changes to the code for 10 years, saying it has “added red tape and increased the compliance burden for new housing projects”.
AI
The roundtable will include a session on “AI and innovation”.
Labour productivity, meaning the output from hours worked, has increased by an average of 0.66% over the last five years, according to the Productivity Commission.
Ahead of the roundtable, the Commission handed down a report advising against strict AI regulations.
Instead, it advised that harnessing AI could improve output in the workplace.
Business groups welcomed it as a way to “work smarter, not harder”.
However, unions and the Coalition said there needed to be clear guardrails to avoid issues like AI models being trained on the work of Australian creative workers without permission.
Other ideas
Other major tax and productivity measures will also be discussed.
There is a push from climate experts and industry to reform national environmental laws.
The ACTU has also proposed there should be a minimum 25% tax on people who earn more than $1 million.
The Productivity Commission has suggested an additional 5% net cashflow tax, which would target a company’s profits.
