2018 EABC Business Delegation to Canberra Parliament House, Canberra 23-24 October 2018 Mission Report 2018 EABC Business Mission to Canberra 23-24 October 2018 Overview On Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 October 2018, a delegation of EABC Members visited Parliament House in Canberra to meet with members of the Federal Government and Opposition. The delegation provided opportunities for members to engage in direct dialogue on the broad economic and business agenda, and other key developments occurring in the bilateral relationship with Europe, including ongoing negotiations for an Australia-EU Free Trade Agreement. Programme The delegation programme on Tuesday 23 October began with a Cocktail Reception with guests of honour the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, Federal Treasurer; the Hon Angus Taylor MP, Minister for Energy; the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities, and Regional Development and Shadow Minister for Tourism; the Hon Greg Hunt MP, Minister for Health; Senator the Hon Kim Carr, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science, and Research; and the Hon Mark Dreyfus MP, Shadow Attorney-General. The programme continued with a Working Dinner with the Hon Jason Clare MP, Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment and Shadow Minister for Resources and Northern Australia; and the Hon Christian Porter MP, Attorney-General. The programme on Wednesday 24 October consisted of a series of Roundtable Discussions, including with Clare O’Neil MP, Shadow Minister for Justice and Shadow Minister for Financial Services; the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, Minister for Jobs and Industrial Relations and Minister for Women; the Hon Mark Coulton MP, Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment; the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, Minister for Families and Social Services; the Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Education; The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Shadow Minister for Rural and Regional Australia; the Hon Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Home Affairs; and Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance and the Public Service and Leader of the Government in the Senate. The programme continued with a Working Lunch with the Hon Chris Bowen MP, Shadow Treasurer, followed by a viewing of Question Time in the Special Visitors Gallery of the House of Representatives; and concluded with a Roundtable Discussion with the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, Minister for Defence. Participants EABC Members who participated in the programme included senior representatives from a diverse range of companies, sectors, and organisations. The delegation was led by EABC Chair the Hon Nick Greiner AC (QBE Insurance Group), Deputy Chair the Hon Simon Crean (Monash University), and EABC CEO Jason Collins. Mo Abdo (GFG Alliance) Joshua Cooney (Suncorp Group); Gary Dawson (Thales Australia); Juan Ignacio De La Cueva (Navantia); Trevor Dixon (Link Group); Bede Fennell (Lendlease); Gavin Jackman (Antinomies); Dr Alex Joiner (IFM Investors); Andrew Low (CLSA); Andrew McCallum (Meat and Livestock Australia); Sue Morphet (Asaleo Care); Peter Murphy (Novartis Australia); Hassan Noura (McKinsey & Company); Kate O’Loughlin (QBE Australia & New Zealand); Tania Rhodes-Taylor (The University of Sydney); Nicholas Scofield (Allianz Australia); Helen Seidel (Visa); Jakob Teitelbaum (McKinsey & Company); Vicki Thomson (Group of Eight); and Helen Williams AO (Centre for Strategy & Governance). About the EABC The European Australian Business Council (EABC) is a peak business organisation whose mission is to promote trade, investment and institutional cooperation between Australia and Europe. The EABC plays a key role in fostering dialogue between business and government leaders from Australia, the European Union and its Member States, on ways to enhance the economic relationship bilaterally. As an independent, private sector-led initiative, the Council also works with Australian and European diplomatic missions and trade agencies, international organisations, as well as bilateral chambers and other peak business associations. EABC 2018 Business Mission to Canberra - Mission Report Page 2 2018 EABC Business Mission to Canberra 23-24 October 2018 Tuesday 23 October 2018 Cocktail Reception - Senate Alcove At the Reception, the EABC Delegation was delighted to welcome many Australian and European guests, including senior officials from several Australian departments and agencies, and European Ambassadors and senior diplomats. EABC delegates welcomed the presence of Federal Treasurer the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP; Minister for Energy the Hon Angus Taylor MP; Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities, and Regional Development and Shadow Minister for Tourism the Hon Anthony Albanese MP; Minister for Health the Hon Greg Hunt MP; Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science, and Research Senator the Hon Kim Carr; and Shadow Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus MP. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg gave a keynote address, commenting on the strength and resilience of the Australian economy despite a difficult global context, marked by record high levels of public and private debt and escalating trade tensions. The ongoing focus by Government on budget repair will provide Australia with the fiscal tools to respond to any future economic crisis. Minister Angus Taylor outlined key challenges faced by the Australian energy sector, including the increasing penetration of renewables into the grid and the need to respect Australia’s climate change commitments, while ensuring reliability and affordability of electricity. Minister Greg Hunt also addressed the delegation, emphasising the depth of collaboration between Europe and Australia on medical research, and potential for further joint work and initiatives. Shadow Minister Anthony Albanese underlined the importance of infrastructure investment to anticipate future needs, create job, boost productivity and support long-term economic growth, and highlighted the crucial role of European companies in the Australian infrastructure sector. Shadow Minister Kim Carr highlighted the critical need to increase efforts on research and innovation to ensure Australia’s long-term prosperity, and the importance of enhancing R&D collaboration with European partners. Working Dinner - Private Dining Room Following the Reception, the programme continued with a working dinner, with Shadow Minister Jason Clare. The Opposition Trade Minister underscored the role played by Australia’s bipartisan approach to trade in the successful implementation of an extensive network of high-quality FTAs with most of Australia’s economic partners, before commenting on the ‘Fair Go for Australians in Trade’ bill and engaging with participants on the ongoing FTA negotiations with the EU. As part of this discussion, remarks were also made by the EU Ambassador to Australia, HE Dr Michael Pulch on the EU’s expectations and ambition to reach an ambitious deal with Australia. Attorney-General Christian Porter then joined delegates for a discussion on the national security and intelligence dimensions to his portfolio, including the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act and the Espionage and Foreign Interference Act; and the implications of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on Australian businesses. EABC 2018 Business Mission to Canberra - Mission Report Page 3 2018 EABC Business Mission to Canberra 23-24 October 2018 Wednesday 24 October 2018 Roundtable Discussions - Senate Alcove The EABC delegation programme continued at Parliament House on Wednesday 24 October with a roundtable discussion with Shadow Minister Clare O’Neil, which focused on Labor’s priorities and policy propositions on Australia’s financial services sector, and in particular the superannuation system, highlighting the importance of reforms towards a more simplified, flexible and harmonized system. Discussion also addressed financial literacy and financial capability, as well as the banking royal commission interim report. EABC Delegates then met with Minister Kelly O’Dwyer who reported on the latest statistics on Australia’s workforce and employment level with, in particular, full-time employment reaching record-high. Topics addressed during the discussion included the Fair Work Commission and other Government’s priorities on industrial relations, as well as in other areas including domestic violence; female employment; skills and higher-education; and many others. Assistant Minister Mark Coulton provided delegates with an overview of Australia’s trading profile and ongoing trade negotiations, highlighting the priority given to ongoing discussions with the EU and the Government’s objective to reach a comprehensive and ambitious deal. Discussion with participants then included market access; geographical indications; and labour market testing; as well as the inland rail project and other major infrastructure projects in regional Australia; and regional education. Discussion with Minister Paul Fletcher addressed Australia’s $160 billion social security system, and the Government’s approach to ensure the sustainability of the welfare system. The Minister also commented on the funding and roll-out of the NDIS across Australia, aiming to support over 460,000 people when fully deployed in 2020; as well as on other initiatives, including cashless debit cards. Education Minister Dan Tehan underlined the crucial global engagement of Australia’s higher education system, and the importance of market diversification for Australian universities. Discussions