Chapter 4Other issues examined since the Second Interim Report
4.1This chapter considers new and expanded areas of inquiry that the committee has examined since the Second Interim Report was tabled. These areas include:
business conditions, covering:
whether there has been an increased rate of business insolvencies recently;
personal insolvencies, or bankruptcies, as these relate to business (including sole traders); and
challenges for particular industries, including:
hospitality; and
manufacturing.
4.2The committee's views and recommendations concerning the above are set out in Chapter 5.
4.3Many of the issues affecting business that are outlined in this chapter reflect those affecting Australians as a whole, as set out in Chapter 3—namely, high input costs, such as groceries (for businesses dealing with food), transport (freight), energy, rents and insurance. That chapter examines key pressure points in greater detail.
Business conditions
4.4The committee sought evidence on how the cost of living crisis is impacting business and industry because, as the Australian Industry Group noted, an 'informed discussion of the role of industry in cost-of-living issues must start from the recognition that inflationary pressures affect both businesses and households alike'. One business representative described this trend of increasing operating costs and regulations and deteriorating business conditions taking place in parallel to the cost of living crisis as a 'cost of doing business crisis'.
4.5As noted in the Second Interim Report, it is clear that solutions to address the cost of doing business crisis would allow industry and business to reduce costs, stabilise or lower prices which contribute to breaking the inflationary cycle.
4.6While much attention on interest rate increases focuses on their impact on household stress, through mortgage and rent costs, interest rates also affect business through loans for buildings, capital assets such as machinery and ongoing operational costs.
4.7The Australian Industry Group flagged that the cost of goods and services used and made by industry have risen 'by a similar magnitude' to the consumer price index (CPI), with producer prices, as of September 2024, rising faster than CPI. In other words, many of the factors causing stress for households—interest rates, transport, energy prices and insurance—are also affecting business.
4.8The committee learned that the cost of living crisis is particularly affecting small business, especially because consumers are spending less. The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) informed the committee that 49 per cent of Australia's 2.5 million small businesses 'are not breaking even, let alone making a profit'. Further:
Insolvency rates are at a decades high and smaller firms are often at the forefront of these collapses. Many small businesses had hoped for interest rate relief by now but instead continue to face real hardship … When a small business isn't breaking even, the last person to get paid is the owners themselves ... Should these small businesses really be that surprised their plight is getting harder, not easier, under the current settings?
4.9Factors that COSBOA attributed to contributing to small business stress included:
interest rate rises;
'the most complex and costly changes to industrial relations in recent memory';
increases to award rates exceeding productivity growth; and
changes to Australia's skilled migration pathway, effectively pricing 'out employers in sectors like hairdressing, beauty services and hospitality'.
4.10COSBOA also flagged the impact of high insurance premiums on the operational costs of small businesses, 'which may be passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices'. COSBOA proposed that the Australian Government establish a 'government-backed risk assessment and mitigation program for small businesses to help them identify and address potential risks, lowering insurance premiums'.
4.11As the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) explained, there 'is no substitute for customers if you're running a business'. The Ombudsman noted that 'in the last full year of tax debts available, nearly three‑quarters' of self-employed independent contractors who cited their 'self‑employment as their full-time livelihood endeavour' did not take home average weekly wages.
4.12Evidence that the committee received on the impact of the cost of living crisis on business since the Second Interim Report focused on insolvencies, bankruptcies, tax debts and the impact of industrial relations reform.
Impact of industrial relations reforms for businesses
4.13The committee heard that the complexity of industrial relations reforms, and even 'simple things that have come in at the last minute, like the right to disconnect, have sent everybody into a bit of a head spin as to what it actually means in practice'. In particular, increased regulator complexity may be leading to businesses needing to seek external advice, at a cost.
4.14For example, the ASBFEO noted that workplace relations are 'a very complex place to navigate', acknowledging that complex regulations may be challenging for small businesses to navigate when they do not have a compliance department or sophisticated business systems.
4.15Master Grocers Australia pointed to confusion and worry among its members following 'significant' changes to the Fair Work Act and the industrial relations system 'over the last couple of years … when they're spending hours upon hours trying to decipher how an award should be interpreted … that is time that is not productive and it is not time well spent in their business'.
4.16The Chief Executive Officer of the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association argued that recent industrial relations measures were leading to 'fatigue' which 'is having a fundamental impact on the way in which we do business'. Further, the 'right to disconnect is a problem for us … in a sector that, let's face it, operates all hours'. In addition, the 'casual conversion is a monumental issue for us, particularly when you take into consideration that … to have a constant flow or a linear approach to what is a seasonal industry is chaotic'.
4.17The Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association agreed, arguing that 'additional regulatory requirements' where businesses 'have to seek legal advice … [have] actually increased the cost of doing business'. Further, 'you have to navigate hundreds of pages of legislation and policy changes just to be able to open the door to your café at 6 am or your restaurant at 11 in the morning'.
4.18Mr Jon Seeley, Group Managing Director of Seeley International, highlighted 'extreme industrial relations changes', furnishing the committee with an example of the impact of recent new laws on casual employment:
We have two main factories in Australia—one in Adelaide and one in Albury. One has a seasonal peak in winter and the other in summer. Both require seasonal flexibility to augment our permanent workforce with a significant number of casual employees. However, based on our legal advice about the complexity and the ambiguity of new laws around casual employment, we have taken the very difficult decision to amalgamate our operations into one plant in Adelaide so that we can smooth out those seasonal peaks and not have to employ casuals in the future. As a result, some 85 permanent employees in Albury, many of whom have worked for us for upwards of 20 years, will unfortunately lose their jobs with us next year.
4.19Ms Tanya Barden, the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, argued that recent 'changes we've seen in industrial relations haven't been coupled with a productivity agenda'. Further, 'significant costs around energy [and] transport … are adding costs to production while, at the same time, not allowing that uplift in capability to produce more for that cost'.
4.20The Australian Industry Group was of the view that recent industrial relations reform 'are moving—on the personal level, not the technology level—in the opposite direction to where the productivity agenda needs to go. It's not just off the agenda; it's pushing away from the agenda', causing challenges for businesses 'that want to make a capital investment but then need to configure a workforce around what the new process requires'.
4.21One manufacturer informed the committee that 'our overheads as a company have gone up $600,000, from what we would call unproductive staff, in direct labour', to manage the different regulations that the industry is subject to.
4.22In the Second Interim Report, the committee recommended 'that the Australian Government conduct a stocktake of Commonwealth regulation relating to small-to-medium enterprises, with a view to reducing the "costs of doing business" that have exacerbated the cost of living crisis'. The committee also recommended that 'the Australian Government repeal business harming industrial relations policies, particularly for small-to-medium sized businesses, and focus on delivering a more flexible and more productive workplace'.
4.23The Labor Government is yet to respond to these recommendations.
Insolvencies and bankruptcies
4.24The committee sourced evidence on insolvencies to determine whether the cost of living crisis has led to an increased proportion of business insolvencies.
4.25The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) provided data to the committee in September 2024 concerning the proportion of companies entering external administrations compared to total companies (see Figure 4.1). The data suggested that, compared with 2009–10, proportionately less companies entered external administrations in 2023–24 (0.52 per cent in 2009–10 compared with 0.33 per cent in 2023–24).
4.26Evidence from ASIC noted that there was a high number of current insolvencies, but as a proportion, this was not the highest level historically. The Treasury suggested that 'insolvency data by itself really doesn't provide a lot of meaning in context of what might be going on when you look at other macro-economic factors', like the unemployment rate and whether the number of insolvencies is translating into notable levels of unemployment. However, as of August 2024, witnesses from the Treasury conceded 'there are certain businesses in particular sectors that are under significant pressure at this time'.
Figure 4.1Percentage of companies entering external administrations compared to total companies, 2009–10 to 2023–24
Source: Answers to questions on notice taken at the hearing on 16 August 2024 by Australian Securities and Investments Commission, received 10 September 2024, p. 7.
4.27The Australian Restructuring, Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA) noted that the number of business insolvencies 'halved almost overnight in March 2020, along with the stimulus packages that came in around COVID'. In addition, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) 'largely stopped all of its enforcement activity', removing 'the catalyst for businesses to confront whether or not they were in financial distress'. As a result, the numbers of insolvencies 'only started to recover once the ATO re-entered the market and started undertaking its proper enforcement activities'. Dr John Winter, ARITA's Chief Executive Officer, suggested that many of the recent insolvencies 'are organisations that are actual, proper zombies … They'd given the keys back to the landlord some years ago, but they hadn't taken the steps to formally close their business' until the ATO pursued them for their outstanding tax debts. He told the committee that ARITA's 'members continue to say to us that most of the activity that they're seeing is that of these shells of companies; they're not major trading organisations'.
4.28However, the ASBFEO noted that the number of formal business closures is a small fraction of those that only just continue to function or discontinue to function. The ASBFEO further stated that early indicators, such as data collected by CreditorWatch, suggest an increase in business-to-business trade terms queries, in which 'people are worried not just about their own business but also the businesses that they are dealing with, and whether they should be adjusting their terms and pricing; maybe looking for a more meaningful deposit before work commences'.
4.29Mr Schon Condon, Director of the Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners, suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic, cost of living, increased costs of operating and a lack of available staff are 'bringing an increasing number of businesses to heel'. He was of the view that before COVID, 'there was a much greater desire to pursue an outstanding debt' if a business filed for insolvency, 'regardless of the legal costs'. However, post-COVID, 'the legal pursuit to either liquidation or bankruptcy' is typically only 'done in situations where there is an expectation of recovery'.
4.30The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Restaurant and Café Association told the committee that for restaurants and cafes, one of the key issues driving insolvencies is the cost of labour and employees, which is 'more … than they can afford'. Ultimately, 'when wages have gone up 15 per cent over two years and a month and a half, that's quite burdensome for those small businesses and they don't get much more productivity'. He further posited that 'it is also the ATO and landlords that are sending those businesses to the wall' where the businesses have ATO debt and rent arrears, in many cases from during the COVID period.
4.31ARITA highlighted that the construction sector previously experienced an elevated level of insolvency associated with fixed price contracts in the face of sudden increases in input costs and told the committee that the construction sector 'remains our greatest concern' with regards to insolvencies. This is supported by reporting that has suggested that more than 2800 building companies went insolvent in the 2024 financial year to 16 June, an increase of 28 per cent. This was the largest single category of insolvency by a significant margin. These statistics were at odds with the Housing Industry Association's view that the sector is 'experiencing a significantly lower volume of insolvency or cash flow problems at the moment than we've seen in recent years'.
4.32It is 'very common' for small businesses to navigate both the corporate insolvency system and the personal insolvency system, according to evidence from the Treasury. Almost half of all small business loans are secured by a residential property, usually someone's home. As the ASBFEO noted, 'a small business is a person'.
4.33ARITA informed the committee that sole traders account for around a third of bankruptcies, and about two-thirds of the value of the debts in bankruptcy being related to business failures. However, there have been fewer personal insolvencies per capita than pre-COVID; in its view, it is 'difficult to conclude that the current inflationary environment has led to a significant increase in bankruptcies'.
4.34In September 2024, the Australian Financial Security Authority provided the committee with numbers of personal insolvencies by industry of employment over the past five years. This data showed that the most common industries of employment for personal insolvencies for 2023–24 were:
Construction (1421);
Health care and social assistance (1289);
Other services (1119);
Retail trade (1112);
Transport, postal and warehousing (1019);
Administrative and support services (884);
Accommodation and food services (843); and
Manufacturing (770).
4.35This further supports evidence that the construction sector has, at least numerically, been the most impacted by the cost of doing business crisis of the last two and a half years. Master Builders Australia's Chief Executive Officer, Ms Denita Wawn, highlighted that 'tradie shortages, planning and licensing delays, draconian industrial relations changes, material cost inflation, inefficient regulation, unfeasible lending practices and risk allocation have compounded to make projects unsustainable'. Ms Wawn suggested builders had borne the 'largest risk' of the cost of living crisis.
4.36Mr Stephen Walters, Chief Economist at the Business Council of Australia expressed concern that insolvency figures from ASIC may not reflect the extent of small business insolvencies, given they may not be registered with ASIC and may be partnerships instead.
Tax debts
4.37The committee heard that tax debts with the ATO, acquired through the COVID‑19 period when the ATO was more lenient, as well as older debts, may be a significant contributor to business failure.
4.38The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Restaurant and Café Association informed the committee that in the week before his attendance at the public hearing on 16 August, 'I've had two restaurateurs call and I had to immediately refer them to Lifeline – that is how serious it is – after they had conversations with the ATO'. He suggested that 'the tenor and nature of the communications from the ATO to small business has shifted in 2024. It is, I hate to say, a very heavy-handed approach'.
4.39The COSBOA outlined the impact of the ATO pursuing tax debts from small business:
… the posture of the ATO has obviously changed from COVID. There was the ability for people to put their debts on hold during COVID, and I think the expectation at that time was that, once COVID had finished, things would get back to normal. There has been a double whammy; that hasn't happened and obviously the ATO's posture has changed in order to recoup funds for services ... I think it's a case of really working to better communicate to small businesses that they need to approach the ATO early in the piece to try to understand and work out what can be done to alleviate the stress they're under.
4.40Mr Condon from the Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners noted that industries experiencing high levels of insolvency include construction, hospitality and retail, along with 'organisations that have traditionally existed with very high debt levels … the largest proportion of [which] would be ATO debts'. He explained the impact of ATO actions on businesses carrying a high level of debt in greater detail:
Quite clearly, some of the ones in those three particular industries will also be high debt level businesses. But if you're working in any industry, if you've been carrying a significant level of, say, ATO debt for the last 15 years and chipping away at it, and it goes up and down and bubbles away, when the ATO or any other creditor seeks full repayment of the backlog, it actually brings to an end that business's operation. That could quite easily have occurred 10 or 15 years ago, if it's been operational in that state for that period.
4.41Mr Condon was of the view that the ATO should have implemented 'a much stronger process to keep [debt] under control from the start. With some of the levels of debt that I've dealt with in businesses, it's very difficult to comprehend how anyone was allowed to operate up to that level'. He called for consistency, suggesting that the ATO currently pursues unpaid tax debts with some businesses sooner than others, while others may be allowed to trade for years.
4.42Mr Condon also highlighted inconsistencies with the ATO's processes, or 'swings and changes depending on what's going on'. Further, 'one of the other difficulties insolvency practitioners face is that the ATO has a variety of different ways of reacting to something' that the insolvency practitioner industry cannot predict, such as a director penalty notice, or a garnishee, or a wind-up application, and there 'seems to be no systematic approach to how it's done'.
4.43That said, ARITA welcomed the ATO's changed position, arguing that businesses paying their tax were 'at a very significant disadvantages' to the business 'next door that is not … seeing the ATO go back to fairly enforcing the debts and collecting them is a significant and positive move'. ARITA was of the view that 'not paying your employee obligations or your tax is deeply problematic for a range of reasons', including that tax debts are 'kind of invisible to other creditors of organisations'.
4.44At the 13 September 2024 hearing, the ATO acknowledged that 'many people are, indeed, struggling with the cost of living', while also noting that it had 'returned to operations as normal' following the pandemic. Further:
First and foremost, we seek to help and support people so that insolvency is much further down the line. We prefer to help people with payment plans and things of that nature; however, when businesses or individuals don't respond to our interactions with them, or they don't put payment plans in place and they continue not to engage with us, then we do have a full range of firmer actions that we apply. Right at the end of the line is legal recovery action. If we are a creditor we may initiate insolvency action.
4.45At the time of the hearing, the ATO was focused on recovering Goods and Services Tax, Pay As You Go withholding and the super guarantee. It informed the committee that it does not 'target specific industries. However, we do see certain industries more represented than others in amounts owing to the ATO, particularly construction and hospitality'. The ATO further noted that while it 'will be taking a firmer approach where people don't respond or engage with us, our message is absolutely that we want to be working with taxpayers to help them get back on their feet and back on track'.
Other issues raised about business conditions
4.46Other issues raised concerning business conditions included:
the impact of wage increases without commensurate productivity improvements, with one manufacturer suggesting that when other costs, like land tax and energy, 'are going through the roof, we simply can't afford to pay people any more';
significant increases to rental costs, with many tenancy arrangements adjusted in line with the CPI;
continuing issues with payment times and their effect on cash flows, particularly large businesses taking extended periods to pay small business suppliers; and
'the very short consultation times' on government reforms, in some instances with seven days' notice.
Challenges for particular industries
4.47Smaller businesses may be more affected by consumer spending in areas like hospitality, restaurants and travel.
4.48Household consumption has a direct impact on the performance of some sectors of the economy, with the retail sector particularly affected by recent decreased spending by households. As of August 2024, the National Australia Bank's business surveys indicated that there was:
significant stress in retail and wholesale; and
increasing stress in manufacturing and some service sectors, particularly hospitality.
Hospitality
4.49The Restaurant and Café Industry Association highlighted that one of the biggest challenges for cafés and restaurants is that 'nobody is richer today than they were a year ago'. This is leading to less discretionary spending which is negatively impacting the café and restaurant sector.
4.50Other issues affecting the sector include:
The 'rising cost of utilities, including electricity and gas, has significantly impacted operational budgets', with many restaurants and cafés reporting increases in their energy bills in the last year alone of up to 30 per cent.
The high likelihood that a landlord will ask for increased rent if a restaurateur increases their profit.
Rising inflation in the cost of ingredients such as meat, dairy and fresh produce.
Labour shortages exacerbated by changes to skilled migration requirements and a lack of qualified cooks and chefs from the vocational education and training (VET) system, leading to 'increased labour costs for businesses as they compete for a shrinking pool of qualified staff.
Issues with apprenticeships, with the Australian Restaurant and Café Association's Chief Executive Officer arguing that free 'TAFE [technical and further education] isn't working. All trades, including all trade industry apprenticeships commencements, are down 18.7 per cent' and many apprentices and trainees are not completing their training.
Administrative burdens imposed by governments at all levels, with some small businesses spending at least a day a week on 'red tape'.
4.51As a result, of many of the above issues, 'in the café sector people are doing the work themselves, not hiring staff, and then becoming completely exhausted'.
Manufacturing
4.52Mr Matthew Fogarty, a Director of Celsius Manufacturing, told the committee that in the 50 years of his business 'I don't think it's ever been this tough, actually. It's really been an incredible couple of years'. He outlined the impact of increases to 'every cost', including materials, energy, utilities, technology and rent, arguing 'we work pretty hard to get not very much return. The question I'm probably left with is: why take those risks?'
4.53Dr Jeffrey Wilson from the Australian Industry Group suggested that many manufacturers are 'more exposed to cost pressures than many other branches of industry' because the Australian manufacturing industry is 'highly exposed to competition from imports and, therefore, often can't fully pass on rising costs to consumers'. Dr Wilson further noted:
Output in manufacturing grew by an anaemic 0.2 per cent in real terms last financial year, with food the only major branch to show any meaningful growth. Employment has also fallen, with the industry shedding 12 000 jobs—1.3 per cent of the total—in the year to the June quarter.
Overall, this reveals the heavy burden that inflation is having on the health of Australian manufacturing. Costs have soared, labour market pressures are intense, and margins are under strain. In the face of that, growth has also stalled, and jobs are already beginning to be shed.
4.54On a similar note, Seeley International informed the committee that when 'we talk about cost of living, we are really talking about persistent inflation and its detrimental impact on Australian manufacturing, which is already under pressure from multiple causes'.
4.55The Australian Industry Group flagged significant increases in prices to inputs used by Australian manufacturers over the last three years of 20 per cent, arguing that never 'before have our manufacturers had to contend with such dramatic and sustained price rises for their material inputs'.
4.56The Australian Industry Group also suggested that over the last three years, average wages in manufacturing have risen by 11.5 per cent—'the highest increase in any industry in Australia over the same period'. This is in addition to recruitment challenges, with 17 000 unfilled jobs in manufacturing compared with 11 000 just before the pandemic. This comprises 'the highest reported recruitment difficulty rate of any industry in Australia and in fact exceeds that reported by the construction industry, which is one with widely known hiring challenges'.
4.57Mondelez International told the committee that the complexity of regulations, including packaging, labelling and climate disclosure requirements, 'divert resources from innovation and productivity'. For example, a single label change across Mondelez International's portfolio costs $3.5 million which may contribute to increased recommended retail prices.
4.58Since the Second Interim Report was tabled, the committee has examined the Labor Government's Future Made in Australia agenda, announced as part of the 2024–25 Budget, for any benefits it would provide manufacturers, including:
the Net Zero Transformation Stream, which the Government has said will identify priority sectors where Australian industry is expected to have a sustained comparative advantage in a net zero global economy, and public investment is needed for the sector to make a significant contribution to emissions reduction at an efficient cost; and
the Economic Resilience and Security Stream, which is intended to identify priority sectors where 'some level of domestic capability is a necessary or efficient way to protect the economic resilience and security of Australia, and the private sector will not deliver the necessary investment in the absence of government support'.
4.59Manufacturers criticised the Labor Government's manufacturing policy. For example, Corex Plastics Australia argued that the Labor Government's Future Made in Australia policy 'seems to be more about research in renewable energy than anything else and about supporting ideological positions for the government … It's not transferable for something we can use in industry and in creating employment'.
4.60Concerns about the Future Made in Australia policy were also raised by Ms Danielle Wood, Chair of the Productivity Commission, who questioned whether Australia needed to compete with other countries for jobs in the renewable energy sector and suggested that early government investment could lead to the sector relying on ongoing government investment. She noted:
If we are supporting industries that don't have a long-term competitive advantage, that can be an ongoing cost. It diverts resources, that's workers and capital, away from other parts of the economy where they might generate high-value uses.
4.61This view was supported by other economists. Former Chair of the Productivity Commission, Mr Michael Brennan, said Ms Wood's comments were 'a really important intervention on the policy issue', while Mr Peter Harris, another former Chair of the Productivity Commission, said that the industry policy approach taken in the Future Made in Australia agenda 'is a slippery slope and most times the investment fails'.
4.62The inaugural Chair of the Productivity Commission, Mr Gary Banks, stated:
Seeking to obtain benefits to society through subsidies for particular firms or industries, including in the form of tax concessions, has proven a fool's errand, particularly where the competitive fundamentals are lacking … While the Prime Minister and Treasurer have portrayed it as a new form of competition policy distinct from the 'old protectionism', the differences lie mainly in the instruments used and industries targeted. Import displacement is at the heart of both.
4.63Ms Tanya Barden, of the Australian Food and Grocery Council, noted that domestic 'manufacturing is becoming increasingly expensive', with the increasing costs of labour, energy, transport, commodities, packaging and warehousing, and increasing pressures on household budgets, 'making it more difficult for businesses to recover the costs and to justify further investment in Australia'. Ms Barden called for 'targeted capital investment incentives [to] help the sector drive the net zero and circular economy transition, as well as increase the competitiveness and productivity of the industry'. Such incentives could include an investment incentive, like an investment allowance, accelerated depreciation or an instant asset write-off, 'that is able to lift the whole industry' given the fact that the sector faces investment challenges. She noted that 'businesses will need to make capital investments as energy sources change', but these 'don't deliver a growth dividend back to the business, so they are expensive investments to make and often hard to justify'.
4.64Industry dissatisfaction with the Future Made in Australia agenda was also captured by Mr Stephen Walters from the Business Council of Australia:
I think globally there's been a real pivot by governments back to being more interventionist, particularly in the US, with their Inflation Reduction Act. It has very little to do with inflation and a lot to do with industry policy and intervention. The world environment has changed, so the Business Council did call for a response to what was going on in the other parts of the world. We didn't call for a Future Made in Australia. We called for a response.
4.65Mr Walters further noted:
… [with regard to] governments taking equity stakes, I think that, in principle, that's a risky thing to be doing, putting taxpayers' funds at risk, particularly when it's a billion dollars in one particular entity and it's not an Australian company … Certainly, you shouldn't be making investments of taxpayers' funds in areas that either would stand up on their own regardless or have no hope of being a long-term proposition.
Other issues raised
4.66Submissions received since the Second Interim Report addressed various aspects of the cost of living crisis. Proposals received by the committee included:
Increasing the Medicare rebate to $150 for all psychologists, given the average cost of a psychology session is around $230 an hour, resulting 'in a
growing number of Australians choosing to forego mental health treatment despite needing it in order to allocate their limited resources to necessities such as housing, food, and utilities'.
Nationalising a bank, supermarket chain or power provider to 'add real competition', generate 'a modest and appropriate profit and provide this as a market alternative'.
Increasing the threshold at which recipients of the age pension have their pension reduced because they have engaged in paid work.
Eliminating entirely the requirement that the age pension be reduced based on earnings of the recipient.
Increasing the tax-free threshold by 2.5 per cent each year, and increasing income tax rates for higher brackets of income.
Reinstating the principle that wage increases are linked to productivity increases.
Aligning the size of the Commonwealth public service with 'optimum numbers' of front-line and non-front-line staff per 100 000 population.
Revising immigration policies, including, for example, introducing the requirement that international student numbers should not exceed a third of any university cohort.
Limiting foreign investment in housing.