Election 2025Australia is experiencing its longest period of sustained low growth since the early 1990s. High inflation and tight monetary policy have dragged on the economy, affecting household consumption, industry output, and exports.Business profitability has been impacted by rising input and wage costs, with investment growth stalling.Companies are struggling with a chronic skills shortage in a difficult industrial relations setting, needless regulation and challenges from digitalisation, decarbonisation and an uncertain geopolitical environment.Australia must urgently address its stagnant productivity to help support better living standards and higher wages now and into the future. Industry is already doing the heavy lifting – improving efficiency, upgrading skills of their existing workforce and investing more in technology. Governments must support these efforts.There is a real risk that the current economic and investment conditions will become entrenched, and we lose the opportunity to foster the dynamism and growth needed to address our future priorities – particularly reaching net zero and building more and affordable housing.Recent volatility in global financial and currency markets, as well as uncertainty regarding new policies emanating from the US, mean there remains significant risk to the economic outlook.Our next government must address these fundamental challenges and recognise that industry policy is critical to help accelerate real income growth and improve productivity.

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