Federal government holding three-day economic summit this week

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is trying to manage expectations ahead of the government's three-day economic reform round table. It comes as the Chair of the Productivity Commission argues the regulatory burden on Australian businesses has blown out.

Transcript

00:00The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says this week is all about building momentum and building

00:07consensus when it comes to productivity, economic resilience and budget reform.

00:14It comes ahead of the Government's three-day economic reform roundtable, which all kicks

00:19off tomorrow, and that will see the Treasurer, the Shadow Treasurer and representatives from

00:26businesses, unions, the community sector and government converge on Canberra for economic

00:33talks.

00:34Now, as you flagged earlier, the Treasurer has been out and about today building excitement

00:39around this roundtable but also managing expectations.

00:45He says that these talks over this week will shape the next three budgets and also that

00:51he's optimistic that there is appetite for reform in this space.

00:56Now, this roundtable has copped a bit of criticism in the lead-up, particularly from the opposition,

01:04with concerns that it will just end up being a talkfest.

01:08Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was asked earlier how long or how soon the Government would look

01:15to implement some of the changes out of the roundtable.

01:18Here's what he had to say.

01:19Well, it depends on the nature and the magnitude of the changes that are being proposed.

01:24Ideally, I'd be able to speak with you on Thursday night about broad reform directions

01:31where we've built some consensus and we've built some momentum.

01:35But to illustrate that progress, it may be that there are some nearer-term opportunities

01:41that we can implement relatively quickly.

01:43That remains to be seen.

01:44Danielle Wood will make the case during her speech at the press club that over-regulation

01:51has stifled growth.

01:53So, a big part of this week will be focused on productivity and how we can get more productivity

02:00gains throughout the workforce and the country.

02:04Danielle Wood will warn that productivity has been stifled and is stalling, particularly

02:14due to red tape, with Productivity Commission research finding the time it takes to build

02:20houses and apartments has ballooned by 50 per cent over the past three decades.

02:26So, she'll say in her speech today, in her words, that regulatory hairballs have found their

02:32way into almost every corner of our economy.

02:35And she'll call for the government to embody a growth mindset when introducing new policies.

02:41Now, this comes as a group of business leaders also call for red tape to be cut, particularly

02:48when it comes to building and environmental approvals.

02:52So, we can expect to find out more about the potential changes that the government could look

02:58to introduce in this space as the week goes on.

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