Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, RBO Governor Michele Bullock, Treasury Secretary Jenny Wilkinson and Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood heading into the productivity roundtable on 20 August 2025. Photo: Jim Chalmers.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is calling them “reform directions”, and he says there are 10 of them on which participants in the Federal Government’s economic reform roundtable have agreed.
Funnily enough, those policy areas are very similar to much of what the government had already stated were among its priorities.
The three-day productivity roundtable wound up late Thursday (21 August) after 29 hours of discussion and more than 300 varied contributions from participants.
Following the talkfest, Dr Chalmers told the media there were 10 clear areas of agreement as well as other good ideas still up for consideration.
The frontrunners with tasks assigned are:
- Progress towards a single national market
- Simplifying trade and reforming tariffs
- Better regulations and cutting clutter
- Speeding up approvals in national priority areas
- Building more homes more quickly
- Making artificial intelligence a national priority
- Attracting capital and deploying investment
- Building a skilled and adaptable workforce
- A better tax system, and
- Modernising government services.
“The best way to sustain and grow living standards over time is to make it more productive, to make it more resilient and also to make sure that our budget is more sustainable,” the Treasurer said.
“These were the tasks that we set some terrific people to over the course of the last few days … Where we landed was that there was a lot of support for trying to put a structure around the work that we will now do as a government in a consultative, collaborative way to really try and address three objectives in the tax system.”
Dr Chalmers also outlined three take-home priority areas for the government, which are achieving “a fair go for working people”, including in terms of intergenerational equity; finding “an affordable, responsible way” to encourage business investment; and making the tax system “simpler, more sustainable” to fund services, particularly with an aging population.
There will, however, be no comprehensive tax inquiry as some had pushed for.
Instead, the government will develop its own options and consult with the group going forward on any changes.
“We undertook to them that we would consider tax reforms in those three areas,” Dr Chalmers said, acknowledging that the current tax system is “imperfect”.
“One of the most troubling imperfections is best seen through an intergenerational lens,” he said.
“Almost everybody around the table had a similar view, which is that we take our responsibilities to the coming generations seriously.
“We recognise that we as people of influence with this opportunity have responsibilities in lots of ways, but especially intergenerational responsibilities, and we take them very seriously.”
A road user levy aimed at electric vehicles has been largely agreed upon, but no specific details have been outlined.
The Federal Treasurer will meet with his state and territory counterparts next month to further develop a plan on how and what to charge EV drivers.
The business lobby at the roundtable emerged agreeing the event was productive.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Andrew McKellar said there was now an “ambitious agenda for reform” for the government to develop.
“They’ve taken a very consultative approach to this,” he said.
“We appreciate that, and we want to continue forward in the spirit that we’ve had in the past three days.”
The Australian Council of Social Services was also pleased with the three-day event.
ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie described the roundtable discussion as a “constructive dialogue” with good results.
“This roundtable was a rare and welcome opportunity for invited participants to discuss in depth with government the big challenges we face,” Dr Goldie said.
“As the Treasurer said in summing up the meeting, there were ‘heartening signs of consensus’ on difficult issues.
“Whatever form it takes, we need more of this kind of constructive dialogue that puts vested interests aside and identifies workable solutions to the issues that matter to people.
“Over the last three days, there was welcome progress and alignment on some of the big challenges we face, and goodwill and determination in the room to resolve them.
“This must be the beginning, not the endpoint of constructive dialogue and engagement with government on these issues.”
Shadow Treasurer Ted O’Brien, who is also the Deputy Opposition Leader, said the government wasn’t living within its means, and that’s the point he made during the roundtable discussions.
His comments led to what others in the room described as a “heated exchange” with the Treasurer.
“I’ve been pretty clear in attending Labor’s roundtable that I am not there for them,” Mr O’Brien said.
“I am not there for the 25 other people in that room, I am there for the 27 million Australians who have been struggling.
“They have been struggling big time over recent years, and the big reason why Australians have been struggling is the government has been overspending.”
