Economists and business groups have joined the prime minister in insisting an upcoming economic roundtable can still produce big ideas.
Leaked Treasury advice reportedly showed a list of proposals to be reviewed by cabinet after the meeting of business, union and other leaders at a productivity roundtable on Tuesday.
Among them were proposals to speed up approval times for housing and reduce environmental red tape, according to the ABC.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese denied the result of the summit had been locked in before it began.
“You’d expect Treasury to be giving advice about a forum that’s about the economy,” he told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday.
“Next week, though, is an opportunity for people to advance their ideas, to advance policies, and that’s a really constructive thing.”
The government has ruled out major changes in some areas, including tax policies, before the three-day summit despite calls for widespread reform to bolster Australia’s lagging productivity rates.
Independent economist Saul Eslake said suggestions the roundtable’s outcome had been agreed upon because of the leaked document should be disregarded.
“It’s standard Treasury practice to brief its minister for any serious discussions or conversations he might be about to have,” he told AAP.
“It would be astonishing if Treasury wasn’t at least thinking about how the treasurer should respond to some of the ideas that have been flagged by participants in the summit that they’re going to put.”
The advice should not be read as particular policies getting a green light, Mr Eslake said.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers also dismissed concerns the summit’s outcomes had been pre-empted.
“Those that have been reported today are just a few of the many ideas which have been put to us and they’re all welcome on the table,” he said.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the coalition would examine suggestions from the roundtable, but had concerns about how the event was being handled.
“I wonder whether people who are attending this roundtable are indeed wasting their time,” she said.
“What we won’t do is accept an agenda that raises taxes on hardworking Australians, particularly because that’s exactly what the government promised it would not do.”
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the roundtable would be a “legacy moment” for reform.
“It is Treasury’s role to provide advice to the government and that is the case here – and we shouldn’t assume it automatically becomes government policy. They are doing their job,” he told AAP.
“Next week’s roundtable is an opportunity for the government and, while it may not be getting consensus, it will give clear understandings around the big challenges that we face around productivity and investment.”
Part of the reason productivity growth has been so poor is because competition has fallen since the mid-2000s, costing Australia up to $3000 per person, the Reserve Bank found in a report released on Thursday.
If Australia could get competition back to where it was two decades ago, it could boost productivity by one to three per cent, said report authors Jonathan Hambur and Owen Freestone.
The Productivity Commission released its final report before the summit, calling for a national screening system for care workers, greater collaboration between health services and a major shift towards preventive health investment.
Commissioner Alison Roberts said care was a rapidly growing sector and proposed reforms would seek to break through the government’s siloed approach to decision-making.
The interim report urges the government to better align quality and safety regulations across the care economy.
That could include a streamlined national clearance process for workers in aged care, the NDIS, veterans’ care and the early childhood education sector.
Australian Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national newswire and has been delivering accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We keep Australia informed.
