Australian Institute of Company Directors conference concludes with calls to government to build productivity

• Date:12 May 2012
• Type:Media Release

The Australian Institute of Company Directors has concluded their Darwin conference with a clear message that productivity growth must be a priority for government and business.

“Australian business and Australian governments need to take a long term view towards growth and they must build productivity by targeting the key drivers for productivity increases,” said John Colvin.

“This includes increasing productivity of capital, healthcare, labour market regulation and flexibility, education and energy costs.”

“Also, we should be forming closer ties with ASEAN, our closest neighbours. There is only a short time frame for Australia to take advantage of Asia's growth,” he said.

Colvin said that it is disappointing that the Federal Government is putting the brake on productivity with over-regulation, red tape and increasing taxes making the cost of doing business in Australia too high.

“The Government is targeting companies with the dropping of the corporate tax cut when instead it needs to focus on growing productivity through investment and improve international competitiveness by reducing the regulatory burden on directors and cutting red tape,” said Colvin.

“The level of frustration towards Government by directors seems higher at this Conference than any in the past, perhaps reflecting an increased tension between government and business.”

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