Businesses need to tackle Australia’s productivity issues head-in and not wait for a Government response to the crisis.
That was the message Queensland finance leaders heard from an expert panel at the Queensland Futures Institute (QFI) Finance Summit this week.
Panellist David Anderson, the CEO of Australian Retirement Trust, said productivity was an important driver of economic growth and improvement in standards of living.
Mr Anderson said Australia’s productivity had been declining since the 1990s, when it had an average growth rate of about 2.2 percent, dropping to 1.1 percent in the 2020s.
“It is true that we’ve had declining rates of productivity growth and I note the Federal Treasurer has taken it on as a major focus area for this term of parliament, but we shouldn’t be thinking that this is the government’s responsibility,” he said.
“This is the responsibility of the entire economy and the entire community.”
Mr Anderson there were many opportunities to drive productivity improvement, identifying three key levers businesses could pull.
He said the first was technological advancement and innovation.
“One of the great things about technology and digital capabilities, particularly artificial intelligence, is the expanding ubiquity of it and the potential for businesses.
“Whether they’re small mum and dad businesses all the way through to (large) organizations, we get to determine at what rate, we’re open to apply new technologies.”
He said astute adoption of technology could lift the standard of work being undertaken, improve customer satisfaction, drive efficiencies, expand the return on investment, and allow for reinvestment.
“It’s a virtuous cycle (and) a great opportunity.”
Mr Anderson said the second major lever was human capital development, where Queensland had distinct advantages.
He said 97 percent of businesses in the state were small or family-owned businesses, which highlighted a entrepreneurial culture.
“You can manufacture a lot of things related to productivity, but you can’t manufacture culture. That ‘can do’ attitude.”
In addition, Mr Anderson said the state’s population growth drove demand, which presented an opportunity for productivity improvement.
The third level was using capital capital investment to drive productivity improvement.
He said there were great opportunities in Queensland, including the 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games.
“I think there’s huge opportunity for public private partnerships to expand, particularly in infrastructure and housing.”
