This week, big business finally threw a full-blown tantrum over what Labor is doing to the national economy, using the Business Council of Australia’s annual dinner to attack the Prime Minister (its guest of honour) over his government’s industrial relations changes.
Both the CEO and the BCA president were not mincing words in pointing out how difficult the current climate is for Australian businesses, and they are right in their criticism.
At the top of the list of complaints are Labour’s new IR laws.
The policy shift to appease the unions that the Labour Party has implemented, although not in evidence at the last election, was always going to be on the agenda if Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister.
Why? Because that is what Labour governments always do. When they are elected, especially after long periods of coalition government, they “reform” the industrial relations system.
“Reform” is a euphemism for rebalancing things in favor of the labor movement and its workers.
Trade unions are the largest source of political donations to the Labour Party, so it is not surprising that the Labour Party tries to defend their interests once it comes to power.
The same thing used to happen when big business donated to the Liberal Party, but that doesn’t happen much anymore, so the Liberal Party is drifting towards populism rather than staying ideologically aligned with the business community as it once did.
The Prime Minister was the guest of honour at the BCA dinner this week, where both the CEO and the President gave speeches condemning its new IR laws.
While I agree with the concerns of the business sector regarding the new IR laws, it is difficult to feel much sympathy for big business.
I say this because for many years the Australian business community has forgotten what really matters to them.
They’ve been too busy lecturing the rest of us about post-materialist issues like the environment, inclusion and diversity and, in this parliamentary term, the Voice.
Business leaders are not philosopher kings, well placed to lecture the rest of us on what is virtuous and what is not.
They are certainly not the moral guardians of right and wrong, but for some reason they feel they have the right to speak down to the mainstream.
Not long ago, former Qantas boss Alan Joyce lectured Australians on how they should vote in the referendum, even after the major parties had already disagreed in the Voice.
He became a partisan fighter, oblivious to the intellectual snobbery associated with the controversial campaign on which Qantas embarked.
Anthony Albanese, his fiancée Jodie Haydon and Alan Joyce. Qantas openly supported The Voice despite the lack of bipartisan support
Voice ‘Yes23’ logos appeared emblazoned on the side of some Jetstar and Qantas aircraft
Business leaders have even lectured the Liberal Party about the lack of female representation in its ranks. In isolation, it’s a fair criticism… but most of these companies live in glass houses.
At the same time as gender liberals are being heavily criticised, the number of women serving on ASX boards has declined, as has the number of female CEOs. Not to mention the lack of progress in addressing the gender pay gap in corporate Australia.
Continuing on the theme of corporate hypocrisy, too many senior figures in the business world lecture the rest of us about doing more to tackle climate change, when many of their companies are, at best, window dressing for the problem.
They are no better than celebrities who do the same thing.
The new Labor government seized on every comment from business leaders while in opposition, exclaiming “me too!” whenever attacks were aimed at the Morrison government.
Shortly after Labor took power, we all witnessed the conga line of business attendees to the jobs and skills summit in Canberra, complete with cheesy smiles for the cameras and handshakes to boot.
What happened next? Once the ugly people show was over, the Labour Party changed the system of employee relations without warning or consultation. They left all those corporate buffoons to their own devices.
It is hard, therefore, not to think simply that big business is now getting what it deserves after degrading itself in the farce that preceded what Labour governments always do.
I wonder if the Australian business community has the collective memory of a goldfish.
Now, faced with worsening economic conditions, he suddenly wants to punish Labour for its foreign relations policies and is calling on both major parties to tone down their populist rhetoric in the name of much-needed economic reforms.
Businesses are the biggest employers in this country and pay the lion’s share of taxes. Their success often translates into national prosperity. That’s why Labour’s new IR laws, which put all that at risk, are so short-sighted.
While I agree with the issues, before the Australian business community can hope to convince voters to join its calls for a more business-friendly environment, it needs to acknowledge the mistakes of the recent past.
It must be admitted that for too long business leaders have deprioritized fundamental issues in the name of implementing a so-called conscious agenda.