In the 1980s and 1990s, Australia’s reform agenda of deregulation, privatisation, fiscal prudence and economic liberalisation led to about three decades of growth with low inflation, low unemployment and, — according to the Productivity Commission, — no great widening in inequality. In real terms, national income per capita from the early 1990s to the early 2010s increased by two thirds. 

Since then, however, the economic-reform agenda has disappeared. The result has been a cost-of-living crisis, exacerbated by often well-intended bipartisan policies that have expanded the role of government at the cost of productivity. Australia’s productivity has stalled, along with incomes and living standards. 

Our panel will tackle three areas where our productivity battles are the hardest. We will look at tax reform, and whether Australia’s tax system is curtailing private sector growth. We will look at industrial relations, where both sides of politics have pursued an agenda based around reversing the industrial relations reforms of the 1990s and 2000s. We will also address deregulation and how getting government out of the way is the best answer to boosting living standards.