Treasurer Announces Major Economic Reform Roundtable as Australia Confronts Productivity Crisis

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced Wednesday a high-level economic roundtable in August aimed at building consensus on sweeping reforms to boost the nation's lagging productivity growth and address mounting budget pressures.

The three-day forum, scheduled for Aug. 19-21 in Parliament House's Cabinet Room, will bring together about 25 representatives from government, business, unions and civil society to tackle what Chalmers described as Australia's most pressing economic challenges.

"We have a mandate to deliver the policies and plans that we took to the election, but we also have a duty to build on them," Chalmers told the National Press Club. "The best way to work out what's next is together."

The announcement comes as Australia grapples with productivity growth that has stagnated for decades, reaching what Treasury identified as the largest quarterly fall in almost half a century during the 2022 election period.

Chalmers outlined three core priorities for his second term: lifting productivity growth, achieving budget sustainability and building economic resilience against global volatility. He acknowledged that while Australia has outperformed international peers on inflation and unemployment, deeper structural challenges remain unresolved.

"Our budget is stronger, but it's not yet sustainable enough," Chalmers said. "Our economy is growing, but it's not productive enough. It is resilient, but it's not resilient enough in the face of all of this global economic volatility."

The roundtable represents the most significant attempt at economic reform coordination since the major structural changes of the 1990s. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will launch the discussions, with Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock and Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood expected to participate.

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