CEO Update: Australia should not slip into stagnation

It's been a busy couple of weeks, with opportunities to engage with members across Perth, Sydney and Canberra on the issues that matter most to Australia's economic future. 

In Perth, I was pleased to catch up with members and host a roundtable alongside our Chair Christine Bartlett with interested stakeholders to discuss CEDA's Progress 2050 agenda. The feedback was encouraging, and as always it felt like there was a lot going on in the state.     

On the key issues on CEDA’s agenda, there was significant interest in the energy transition, critical minerals, skills development and AI adoption. Importantly, there was also strong appetite for Australia to do more business with our Asian neighbours, particularly Indonesia, and discussion of how CEDA might play a role. Any thoughts on this are very welcome. 

While in Sydney, I presented at the WeMoney Financial Wellness Summit and was asked a fundamental question: why does productivity matter for most Australians? 

The answer lies in the data. Productivity Commission analysis from 2023 shows real wages tracked productivity growth for most industries from 1995. This means that had productivity growth been closer to the 2 per cent recorded over the 1990s than our actual performance, average real incomes would be around $25,000 higher. This is a stark reminder that we need to remain focussed on sustainably lifting productivity, despite the many headwinds we face. 

This brings me to the recently released IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2025, which showed Australia moving backwards across all measures in the survey. This is concerning given the importance of these drivers of competitiveness to the nation’s future prosperity.  

Australia ranked 23rd of 69 countries this year, for our worst result in the nine years of the ranking. It was particularly concerning to see our big falls in education and training, and our persistently weak scores on business agility. 

We are in the process of lifting our focus on business innovation, dynamism and competitiveness in our work, and you will hear more about this agenda before the end of the year. 

While in Canberra, I had the opportunity to hear ASIC Chair Joe Longo speak at the National Press Club. As usual, Joe had plenty to say and was particularly strong on the fact that Australia faces a stark choice on whether it wants to innovate or stagnate. He emphasised the need to put in place the right regulations and laws to build the markets we need for the future, noting the significant growth of private capital. You can read his full speech here. 

With the introduction of the new Aged Care Act and Support at Home reforms coming into effect this month, aged care has been high on CEDA’s agenda. Today I hosted our Charting the Future of Aged Care event in Melbourne, welcoming Federal Minister for Aged Care and Seniors Sam Rae to the CEDA stage. I hosted the Perth edition of this event last week. I also participated in Kismet’s innovation in care symposium while in Canberra. 

As these important reforms are rolled out it is important that the sector and all levels of government work openly and collaboratively to understand what is working well and what further changes might be needed. Pleasingly, this has been the tone of discussions. Enabling innovation and the use of data and ensuring that health and aged care work well together have been key themes across my conversations.   

Tomorrow, we hold our Annual General Meeting, and I look forward to seeing many of you online as we reflect on our achievements this year and look to the opportunities ahead. 

In other CEDA events, join us in Sydney on November 25 to hear from National Energy Market (NEM) Review Chair Associate Professor Tim Nelson as Australia seeks to future-proof its energy landscape across the eastern and south-eastern states. The review aims to ensure our energy settings are fit-for-purpose into the future.   

We’re delighted to welcome back Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan to deliver the 2025 State of the State address on November 27 in Melbourne. Twelve months to the next state election, join us to hear the Premier's priorities for the year ahead and the state's economic outlook.  

And in Perth on December 9, hear from West Australian Treasurer Rita Saffioti as she explores what’s at stake for the state’s budget, services and economic future in the Productivity Commission’s review of the GST distribution amid a growing national debate on the issue.