Westpac has put forward a series of recommendations designed to make Australia more productive. In a submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable this week the bank has outlined a range of policy proposals addressing key issues affecting the nation.
Westpac CEO Anthony Miller said: "Australia is a well-governed, well-regulated country that attracts capital and talent. This has long been the secret to our success - it has been our differentiator and has underpinned the 'lucky country'.
"However, today the average business owner or family could be forgiven for thinking that our luck is running out. It's never been harder to run a business, buy a home or pay the power and grocery bills.
"That's why, now more than ever, we need to respond to the economic challenges confronting us and remain competitive. The Australian Government is appropriately drawing a line in the sand, and we welcome this opportunity to contribute to the debate, to help find the ideas and practical solutions to grow national productivity.
"Underpinning our goal to grow productivity is that we must make Australia a society that rewards everyone for their efforts. Success will require a pragmatic approach, acknowledging and operating within the realities of Australia's economic, industrial and social landscape.
"To achieve meaningful reform, we can be smarter, more efficient, clear on our purpose and more competitive," Miller said.
Westpac's submission includes a range of policy proposals, particularly addressing key issues like housing, supporting regional Australia and Australia's energy transition.
HOUSING
"The cost of housing in many cities is making it harder for people to find a home near their workplace or families, increasing travel times and in some cases creating labour shortages," Miller said.
"While two thirds of the population own, or are paying off their home, we acknowledge that large sections of the community being priced out of home ownership is neither fair nor good for the economy or our country. It's not just about building more homes, it's about building more homes at a price people can afford to pay."
REGIONAL AUSTRALIA
"While our biggest cities struggle with population growth, regional Australia, which has always been central to the nation's prosperity, is struggling to achieve the critical mass of population growth to achieve equivalent levels of economic growth," Miller said.
"Regional Australia presents an untapped opportunity, and this is a major priority for Westpac. Now is the time for governments to plan and grow the next generation of Australian cities to speed up economic growth in regional Australia.
"We are a large country, and success will require us to be very targeted in investment to build immediate momentum. This is difficult for elected governments to implement alone, and an example of where the private sector can contribute."
AUSTRALIA'S ENERGY TRANSITION
"Similar to some of the issues slowing down new housing supply, Australia's energy transition is being delayed by too many layers of approval for new infrastructure across local, state and federal government," Miller said.
"This complexity is slowing down the delivery of new infrastructure and in some cases undermining our ability to compete with other jurisdictions for investment. We can overcome these issues by giving the states clear targets for energy generation and the autonomy needed to achieve them."
Summary of recommendations put forward in Westpac's submission:
1. Build more homes for Australia
- Harness AI to streamline, speed up and giv certainty to new housing development approvals
- Defer upfront development costs, as per the stimulus setting used during COVID-19
- Move all state planning systems to a consistent, "deemed approval" setting
2. Accelerate Australia's energy transition
- Determine and publish transparent state-level targets for energy generation and storage
- Give state governments autonomy over approvals
3. Grow Australia's regional cities
- Identify up to ten cities in regional Australia to drive a regional investment and growth resurgence
- Set a target to grow the population of regional Australia by a million people by 2032
- Underpin regional growth by tapping into existing infrastructure and investment funds
4. Generate the skills Australia needs
- Break down barriers to skilled worker movement around Australia
- Better target skilled migration
- Prioritise investment in Australia's workforce
5. Deliver fair and practical tax reform
- Prioritise targeted changes to the tax system
- Stop allowing inflation to increase the tax burden on working Australians every year
6. Remove barriers to simple advice for all Australians
- Remove basic banking products from the regulated financial advice regime
- Make it easier for banks to support customers with basic product information
7. Empower regulators to provide certainty
- Introduce a "Rulings Power" for all regulators to enable them to give certainty to businesses
- Introduce a productivity / growth mandate for all regulators and embed regulatory simplification processes
- Harmonise the definitions of small business
8. Help prevent financial abuse in Australia
- Make simple but urgent reforms to combat elder abuse
- Work towards an industry-wide approach to reduce financial abuse
9. Harness the obvious AI and data opportunity
- Upskill Australia's workforce on the AI opportunity
- Develop the right AI guardrails
- Share government data in the Consumer Data Right
