Activities & Achievements | January

Activities & Achievements & January – March 2018 Achievements January – March 2018

Highlights

CEO: James Pearson

The first quarter of 2018 has seen the Australian Chamber busy Meetings included the Prime Minister’s office, Deputy Prime advocating on tax reform, skills and training, and energy, as well as Minister Hon Michael McCormack MP, the Assistant Minister to the leading the counter-argument to the ACTU’s campaigns against Treasurer, Hon Michael Sukkar MP, the Minister for Citizenship and business. Multicultural Affairs, Hon Alan Tudge MP, the Assistant Minister for We have been busy in our political engagement, hosting, networking Vocational Education and Skills, Hon Karen Andrews MP, and Shadow and meeting with all sides of politics as we advocate for members. We Treasurer, Hon Chris Bowen MP. hosted panel discussions with the Minister for the Environment and We lobbied National Party Ministers and MPs; Home Affairs Minister Energy, Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, the Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace and Deregulation, Hon Craig Laundy MP, Hon Peter Dutton MP; and cross benchers from One Nation, NXT, the Shadow Treasurer, Hon Chris Bowen MP, the Shadow Minister Liberal Democrats and Independent Senator Tim Storer. for Employment and Workplace Relations, Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, and the Shadow Assistant Minister for Preventing Family Violence; “Australians will be left behind if the Shadow Assistant Minister for Universities; and Shadow Assistant unions succeed with a scare campaign Minister for Equality, Terri Butler MP. to drive a wedge between employers We facilitated a series of roundtables for members with Shadow Trade, and employees and drag down small Resources and Northern Australia Minister Hon Jason Clare MP in business along the way.” Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. James Pearson, CEO

The Australian Tourism Export Council, Australian Trucking Association and Primerus joined as Industry Association members, bringing our total industry association membership to 75, whilst the Business Leaders Council membership increased to 63 as we welcomed Eftpos and Gallagher.

We featured prominently in the media. This included my appearance on the ABC’s Q&A program, where I put the Australian Chamber’s case for business in debate with ACTU Secretary Sally McManus, prominent economist Chris Richardson, former AiG head Heather Ridout, and Crikey founder Stephen Mayne.

Duncan Bremner (Director, Public Affairs & Advocacy) and Emily Kennelly (Adviser, Public Affairs & Advocacy) joined our secretariat. James Pearson and Sally McManus with Tony Jones on Q&A in February We also farewelled several staff.

www.australianchamber.com.au | 02 6270 8000 | Twitter: @AusChamber Working for business. Working for Australia Activities & Achievements January – March 2018

Economics, Industry & Sustainability Director: Adam Carr Chair: Mark Stone The Economics, Industry and Sustainability unit hit the ground running in the first quarter of 2018.

We facilitated a panel discussion with Minister Josh Frydenberg at an Australian Chamber event, where we explored the government’s proposed National Energy Guarantee and future energy policy goals. Throughout the March quarter, we consulted members to work through Hon Chris Bowen MP, Federal Shadow Treasurer at the ‘Fair Share’ book solutions to Australia’s current energy crisis and advocated for change launch in March during our meetings with Minister Josh Frydenberg’s office.

We also facilitated a roundtable discussion with the Prime Minister’s office and a panel discussion at the book launch of ‘Fair Employment, Education & Share’ with Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen and authors Stephen Bell Training and Michael Keating. Director: Jenny Lambert Chair: Denita Wawn We met with Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen’s office andAssistant Minister to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar’s office to discuss a The first quarter of 2018 was busy. We made submissions tothe number of economic issues. Department of Education and Training on Training Product Reform, Unduly Short Courses and In-home Care National Guidelines. We We continued to lobby for corporate tax cuts and broader tax reform testified before theSenate Education and Employment Legislation through our meetings with the Prime Minister’s and Treasurer’s office, Committee regarding our position on the Migration Amendment One Nation, Senate crossbenchers and the Xenophon Team. (Skilling Australians Fund) Bill 2017 and Charges Bill 2017. We made submissions to the Department of Home Affairs on permanent We discussed small business issues as a member of small business migration intake and temporary skilled migration settings and provided councils facilitated by private organisations, consulted members to comments to the Office of the Chief Scientist on STEM Industry and identify the key policy priorities for small businesses in 2018 and School Partnerships. participated in a discussion with Mark Bouris, Chairman, Small Business Digital Taskforce. We actively engaged with Assistant Minister Andrews and with the Department of Education and Training on the Skilling Australians Fund We attended the launch of the new Sydney Joint Cyber Security Centre Partnership Agreement negotiations, and wrote to the Treasurer by the Minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Angus to seek certainty of the SAF funding. We also met with Minister Taylor, completed a submission to the government’s inquiry into the Tudge and were involved in the consultation process undertaken by trade system and digital economy, and a submission to the inquiry into the Department of Home Affairs on the new Global Talent Scheme the government’s role in the development of cities. visa and advocated for small and niche businesses to be included in the scheme. We worked with the Department of Jobs and Small Business Major reform of our most inefficient (Employment) on skilled migration occupation lists to advocate against taxes could boost Australia’s national a review of the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS) visa. We income, by billions of dollars a year. Tax have also engaged with Minister Sukkar’s office to highlight the need reform is difficult. But with the right for resources allocation for a major review of List of Occupations (ANZSCO) to be undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. policy settings and an appetite for meaningful change it can be achieved. This quarter we continued our involvement in the Employment Services Expert Advisory Panel; Disability Employment Services Transition Adam Carr, Director - Economics & Industry Policy Reference Group; Industry Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment; the VET Student Loans Advisory Group (as Chair); the Career Education Working Group; and the Board of Manufacturing Skills Australia.

www.australianchamber.com.au | 02 6270 8000 | Twitter: @AusChamber Working for business. Working for Australia Activities & Achievements January – March 2018

Our international Trade Support Officer, Tom Stobo, has been supporting Trade & International Affairs members to rollout ChamberEDGE, a digital platform for issuing Director: Bryan Clark Chair: Peter Hood Certificates of Origin to Australian exporters.

Our international area continued to support businesses involved in Following the launch of the ALP’s trade policy last year, we assisted international trade through our regular participation committees including Shadow Minister Jason Clare with a series of business roundtable the National Trade Facilitation Committee and the International events in Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane – each one hosted by the Trade Remedies Forum. State Chamber who facilitated local companies to talk with Jason about what the ALP can do to help them to succeed in international markets. President Jeremy Johnson led our participation in the Prime Minister’s ASEAN Special Summit SME Conference and CEO Forum along with side events hosted by the Australia – ASEAN Business Council. In the Tourism margins of these meetings Jeremy joined Greg Bicknell and Bryan Clark Director: Jenny Lambert Executive Chair: John Hart to meet the Prime Minister of Cambodia and signed an MoU with the This quarter has been successful with wins on the policy front and strong Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce to enhance trade between our two growth trends in the sector. Through the Chamber’s advocacy, tourism countries. and integrated activities are eligible for funding under the $272.2 Australian Vice President of the Confederation of Asia Pacific million Regional Growth Fund. In successive pre-budget submissions, Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), Peter McMullin, the Chamber lobbied for an International Business Events Bid Fund participated in the CACCI delegation visit to Vietnam in April. Bryan Clark and the $12 million Business Events Bid Fund announced by the was a panel speaker at an event for new member, Primerus legal group, Tourism Minister was a win for our members in the events industry. speaking on issues of cross border compliance and disputes. To highlight the message that Tourism Works for Australia, we wrote In our International Chamber of Commerce activities, Chairman Peter to all 150 Federal Members of the House of Representatives highlighting Hood participated in the Tokyo meeting of Regional National Committees the extent of Tourism and Hospitality employment in their electorates. and an associated CEO Forum. We have also undertaken a renewal The Labor Friends of Tourism Reception at Parliament House was of members nominated to the ICC Court, Nominations Panel and a success with a panel on the Future of Vocational Education and ICC Commission on Arbitration (including the task force on Climate Training in Tourism taking centre stage with Labor parliamentarians, Change dispute resolution). After six years Bruce Collins QC and Simon business leaders and member CEOs in attendance. The panel was Greenburg are replaced by Peter McQueen QC and Jo Delaney (Partner chaired by Terri Butler MP with Shadow Minister for Employment, at Baker and McKenzie) to represent our interest on the ICC Court Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, Chief Human Resources Officer, of Arbitration. Planning continues for our second ICC Asia Pacific STAR Entertainment, Kim Lee and the CEO, TAFE Directors, Craig Commercial Mediation Competition in Melbourne in July. Robertson. We welcomed John Denton’s appointment as Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce based in Paris, commencing in May.

Following a successful bid to the Customs Automation Development Fund, we are working with PwC and the Port of Brisbane to create a “proof of concept” for a “Trade Community System” aimed at identifying cost reductions and efficiencies through better information sharing and visibility across the supply chain for importers and exporters. This work will culminate in a showcase event at the Port of Brisbane in the second half of May.

We have just launched our 2018 International Trade Survey. These surveys greatly assist our policy work through improved understanding of the issues and challenges facing our exporting community. This latest survey runs until May and results will be available from mid-year. The Hon Brendan O’Connor MP, Craig Robertson, Kim Lee and Terri Butler MP at the Labor Friends of Tourism Cocktail Event

www.australianchamber.com.au | 02 6270 8000 | Twitter: @AusChamber Working for business. Working for Australia Activities & Achievements January – March 2018

We held meetings with the Department of Home Affairs and the Department of Jobs and Small Business (Employment) in conjunction with the EET unit on migration. We are continuing our push for a Tourism Industry Growth Centre with Austrade and the Department of Industry. Executive Chair John Hart is on the Beyond 2020 Working Group representing the interests of our members. The group is now engaged in the development of targets and a strategy for Australian tourism to 2030. The strategy development will involve building an evidence base and extensive consultation leading to a draft strategy before mid-year and a final strategy by the end of 2018.

Workplace Relations Scott Barklamb presenting at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) meeting in Geneva in March Director: Scott Barklamb Chair: Theresa Moltoni OAM National Workplace Relations Debate Workplace Policy Committee 2018 has commenced with considerable debate on the future direction and shape of Australia’s workplace relations system, including the Craig Laundy, the Minister for Small and Family Business, the Workplace ACTU’s well-resourced and well-coordinated ‘Change the Rules’ and Deregulation, met with the Chamber’s Workplace Policy Committee campaign. The Chamber has been active in combatting both the in March; his first major meeting with Australia’s peak employer network ACTU’s misrepresentations of the current state of workplace relations following his appointment to the ministry. Chamber members spent in Australia and its calls for change that would further skew the system several hours with the Minister in a wide ranging discussion and shared in unions’ favour. The Chamber is prosecuting business concerns with the perspectives and experiences of their members. the current Fair Work Act, and spotlighting areas where our national workplace relations laws need to change. Work Health & Safety and Future of Work Workers’ Compensation Alana Matheson, Deputy Director – Workplace Relations spearheaded a series of presentations and submissions on the future of work in Associate Director: Jennifer Low Chair: Nola Watson Australia, an area of growing interest for Australian business and the We started the year with the annual Safe Work Australia (SWA) wider community. This included major submissions to a Senate Select Members Planning Day where we helped to set the direction of work Committee and to the WA business community. The Chamber is a health and safety and workers’ compensation laws for business leading voice in debates on the future of work globally (in the UN, for the next five years. Armed with members’ views, we debated union International Labour Organisation, and OECD) through our unique leaders and heads of safety regulators from every State and Territory and international network. the Commonwealth Government. Fair Work Commission In a win for the SWA social partners - employers and employees - we The Australian Chamber network had big wins this quarter to defeat achieved changes to voting rights that will be critical moving into the damaging union award claims in the Fair Work Commission. The WHS laws review with a number of decisions on Codes, Guides and Commission rejected an ACTU claim to allow parents and carers to research projects anticipated. dictate when they will and will not work, completely reversing the right of employers to roster/schedule work. The Commission also rejected a We have provided feedback on five model Codes of Practice and two second union claim for 10 days paid domestic violence leave in favour national guides as well as participating in the development of the first of a more realistic and appropriate new unpaid entitlement of 5 days. National Return to Work Strategy.

The Chamber lodged lead submissions on behalf of employers, particularly smaller businesses, to the 2018 minimum wage review, “2018 is the biggest year for work health arguing for an increase not exceeding the rate of inflation to December and safety since the model legislation was 2017 (1.9%). The Fair Work Commission’s decision on award wages enacted in 2011.” for the 2018/19 financial year is expected in June. Jennifer Low, Associate Director – Workplace Health & Safety and Workers’ Compensation

www.australianchamber.com.au | 02 6270 8000 | Twitter: @AusChamber Working for business. Working for Australia Activities & Achievements January – March 2018

In responding to the WHS Legislation Review we have: coordinated Amber Johnson, Human Resources Manager, Envato (Sydney and employer consultation forums with the Independent Reviewer and Brisbane) and Cyan Ta’eed, Co-founder & Executive Director, Envato our state and territory members, run a full-day WHS&WC Committee (Melbourne). workshop in Sydney to develop the Chamber’s response to the review, Tickets are on sale now and special member discounts apply, with and hosted the Reviewer at our March Committee meeting more details available via the event website: www.nextgeninbiz.com.au allowing direct input into the review process.

We continued our work on the PwC working group overseeing the review of VET WHS qualifications and the relevancy of units of Public Affairs & Advocacy competency. Director: Duncan Bremner With the international publication of ISO 45001 we once again urged businesses not to pre-emptively adopt the standard until a Australian determination on adoption could be made. The article was picked up by many media outlets with significant follow-up. Work on determining the Australian adoption option best suited to our regulatory environment continues with Standards Australia and the Technical Committee.

Biz Better Together Manager: Sarah McGregor

The focus for our Biz Better Together team is the new event series, Andrew Hanlon, Westpac Senior Economist, and James Pearson releasing NextGen in Business, which will assist business to manage the the December 2017 quarter of the Australian Chamber-Westpac Survey of Industrial Trends at Parliament House multigenerational workforce. These events are being held with support from our respective State Chambers in three states: Brisbane (22 The first meeting of our Members’Campaigns Committee, chaired by May), Sydney (23 May) and Melbourne (24 May). Terry Wetherall, took place in Adelaide on 9 March. Speakers include Patty McCord, former chief talent officer at The Chamber continued to be central in the tax reform debate, with Netflix and author of Powerful: Building a Culture of Freedom and extensive political engagement and media presence. Responsibility; Tom Goodwin, leadership change advisor and author of Digital Darwinism: Survival of the Fittest in the Age of Business The Chamber assertively challenged claims in the ACTU’s latest Disruption; and Claire Madden, social researcher and demographer campaign against employers, emphasising the negative impact their and author of Hello Gen Z. proposed policies would have across business and holding the ACTU to account by addressing many of their “selective truths”.

In March we released the December quarter results of the Australian Chamber-Westpac Survey of Industrial Trends which received broad national coverage in metropolitan, business and regional outlets.

The Chamber featured in 325 media items, stretching across print, online and broadcast media, reaching a total audience of well over 13 million. We issued 20 media releases.

Throughout the quarter we became increasingly active in the social media space. This was reflected in a marked increase in engagement, impressions and reach achieved across all active social platforms.

Expert speakers have been secured from global brands recognised for We launched our new website, which is now found at their inclusive, innovative approach to workplace culture and diversity www.australianchamber.com.au. The site’s content has been refreshed and navigation simplified to give members easier access to including Ben Gould, Growth Lead, Workplace by Facebook; information that’s important to them. Dominic Price, Head of R&D and Work Futurist, Atlassian;

www.australianchamber.com.au | 02 6270 8000 | Twitter: @AusChamber Working for business. Working for Australia Activities & Achievements January – March 2018

Business Leaders Council Events Director: Paul Nicolaou 23 February Luncheon with the Hon Craig Laundy MP, Minister for Small and Family Business, and Workplace and Deregulation hosted by Corrs Chambers Westgarth in Sydney. Q&A facilitated by James Pearson, Australian Chamber CEO.

Panel facilitated by Tony Dormer, Director, Tricor ChewandDormers with the Hon Ed Husic MP, Murray Thornhill, Director, HHG Legal Group and Nola Watson, President, NSW Business Chamber

The Hon Andrew Robb AO, Former Federal Minister for Trade and Investment, in Q&A with Zoe McKenzie, Principal – Trade & Investment Advisory

20 March Reception with Natalie James, Fair Work Ombudsman, hosted by Lander & Rogers, Melbourne.

6 March Highlights from the 2018 Asia Pacific Legal Frontiers Seminar, hosted in conjunction with Primerus and Tricor ChewandDormers at Doltone House Hyde Park, Sydney.

Panel facilitated by Charles Cameron, CEO, Recruitment, Consulting and The Hon Ed Husic MP, Shadow Minister for Employment Services, Staffing Association with Natalie James, Leyla Yilmaz, Deputy Executive Workforce Participation and Future of Work, Shadow Minister for the Digital Director, Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce and Keith Ryan, Economy Director Workplace Services & Compliance, Housing Industry Association

www.australianchamber.com.au | 02 6270 8000 | Twitter: @AusChamber Working for business. Working for Australia Activities & Achievements January – March 2018

23 March Networking Lunch with the Hon Chris Bowen MP, Federal Shadow Treasurer to mark the release of the book “Fair Share” by Professor Stephen Bell & Michael Keating AC, hosted by KPMG, Sydney.

Natalie James and Stephen Ferguson, CEO, Australian Hotels Association

21 March Luncheon with the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, Minister for the Environment and Energy, hosted by PwC, Sydney.

Australian Chamber Chief Economist Adam Carr with Hon Chris Bowen MP, Professor Stephen Bell and Michael Keating AC

Panel discussion with the Minister, Stephen Cartwright, CEO, NSW Business Chamber and Elizabeth McIntyre, Group CEO, Think Brick Australia

Philippa Kelly, CEO, Large Format Retail Association and the Hon Sue Bussell AM, Partner Workplace Advisory, KPMG, and the Hon Chris Josh Frydenberg MP Bowen MP

www.australianchamber.com.au | 02 6270 8000 | Twitter: @AusChamber Working for business. Working for Australia