2017 EABC Business Delegation to Canberra - Parliament House, Canberra 24-25 October 2017

2017 EABC Business
Delegation to Canberra

Parliament House, Canberra
24-25 October 2017

Mission Report

Overview
On Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25
October 2017, a delegation of EABC
Members visited Parliament House in
Canberra to meet with members of the
Federal Government and Opposition.
The delegation provided opportunities
for members to engage in direct
dialogue on the broad economic and
business agenda, as well as the
preparations underway for launching
negotiations for an Australia-EU FTA.

Programme
The delegation programme on Tuesday 24 October included roundtable discussions with the
Hon Michael McCormack MP, Minister for Small Business and the Hon Darren Chester
MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport; followed by a Cocktail Reception with Guests
of Honour the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Agriculture and
Water Resources, Minister for Resources and Northern Australia; the Hon Keith Pitt MP,
Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment; the Hon Chris Bowen MP, Shadow
Treasurer; and Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance and Deputy Leader
of the Government in the Senate. The programme continued with a working dinner with
ministerial guests including the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP, Minister for Revenue and Financial
Services; the Hon Craig Laundy MP, Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and
Science; and Justin Brown, Deputy Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The programme on Wednesday 25 October included roundtable discussions with Tom
Skladzien, Chief of Staff to the Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy; the Hon
Joel Fitzgibbon MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Shadow
Minister for Rural and Regional Australia; Peter Woolcott AO, Chief of Staff to the Prime
Minister; Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training; the
Hon Peter Dutton MP, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection; Senator the Hon
George Brandis QC, Attorney-General; the Hon Alan Tudge MP, Minister for Human
Services; and the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Shadow Minister for Competition and
Productivity; Shadow Minister for Trade in Services; and Shadow Assistant Treasurer.

Participants
EABC Members participating in the programme included senior representatives from a
diverse range of companies, sectors and organisations. The delegation was led by EABC
Deputy Chair the Hon Simon Crean (Monash University) and EABC CEO Jason Collins.

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2017 EABC Business Mission to Canberra
24-25 October 2017

The Hon Michael McCormack MP
Minister for Small Business
The Minister underlined the importance of trade
liberalisation and opportunities that a
comprehensive and ambitious economic
partnership (FTA) with the EU would create for
Australian SMEs, in particular in healthcare,
education, the digital economy, advanced
manufacturing and other cutting-edge sectors. The
Government is committed to involving SMEs in the
FTA discussions and ensuring that the benefits flow
towards the whole economy, as this spread will
contribute to the success of the deal and address
the growing discontent towards free trade, in
particular in regional electorates.

Discussion with participants included reduction of red tape for SMEs; and initiatives to
attract international students to Australia‘s regional universities.

The Hon Darren Chester MP
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport
Stressing that the 2017-2018 Federal Budget demonstrates the importance given by the
Government to infrastructure and transport, with $75 billion allocated to long-term
infrastructure projects, Minister Chester outlined the current projects supported by the
Commonwealth, including Melbourne Airport Rail Link, the Bruce Highway update,
WestConnex and Pacific Highway expansion.

The Government is also engaging with State governments to identify infrastructure
priorities, and to study opportunities for asset recycling. Decision-making on long-term
projects necessarily implies higher levels of transparency and communication, and the need
to seek bipartisanship.

Participants then engaged in discussion on the Productivity Commission’s five-year
productivity review and the need for productivity-enhancing infrastructure policies; the role
of major defence contracts in attracting European companies across all sectors, including
transport and infrastructure; current developments and innovation in intelligent
infrastructure and the growing relationship with ICT; technology contribution to road safety;
as well as disruptions that drones and autonomous vehicles are creating.

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2017 EABC Business Mission to Canberra
24-25 October 2017

Cocktail Reception
At the Reception, the EABC Delegation was delighted to
welcome Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture
and Water Resources, the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP; Minister
for Finance and Deputy Leader of the Government in the
Senate, Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann; Assistant
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Keith
Pitt MP; and Shadow Treasurer, the Hon Chris Bowen MP,
along with many other special guests.

The Deputy Prime Minister addressed the participants,
calling for deeper relations between the Australian
Government, business representatives and European
Member States, in particular through their Embassies in
Canberra, in light of the prospective FTA negotiations.

Despite sensitivities around agriculture, there is a strong
commitment on both sides to achieve an ambitious FTA
between Australia and the EU.

Minister Cormann highlighted the shift in attitude of
European leaders towards Australia over the last few years,
and the growing interest in Europe for an FTA that would not
only increase two-way trade and investment flows but also
strengthen collaboration in many strategic sectors.

The Minister stressed the role played by the EABC Business
Missions to Europe in engaging with European governments
and institutions and in demonstrating the significance of
Australia as a major business partner for Europe.

Underlining the importance of the trade and investment
relationship with the EU, Australia’s second largest trade
partner and largest foreign investor, Assistant Minister Pitt
emphasised the Government’s commitment to negotiating an
ambitious and comprehensive FTA with the EU.

Shadow Treasurer Bowen underscored the strong ties with
Europe, in particular cultural and people-to-people linkages,
and expressed the Opposition’s support of Australia’s
external trade policy, as Australia’s economy is built on
openness and free trade.

Other Guests of Honour included European Ambassadors to
Australia; Australian MPs and Senators; senior officials from
DFAT including DFAT Secretary Frances Adamson;
Chairman of the Productivity Commission Peter Harris AO;
and other leaders, organisations representatives and senior
political staffers.

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2017 EABC Business Mission to Canberra
24-25 October 2017

The Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP
Minister for Revenue and Financial Services
Minister O’Dwyer touched upon the political challenges facing the Government, the
difficulties involved in building bipartisan support on many issues, and the increasing
influence of crossbenchers, in particular in the Senate.

Regarding her portfolio, the Minister presented the Government’s ambitious
superannuation reforms, whose objective is to ensure the stability, integrity and ongoing
performance of Australia’s superannuation system over the next decades. Other reforms
include reinforcing the role of ASIC in the fight against financial crimes, to improve public
confidence in the financial system in Australia.

Discussion with the Minister included the mandate of superannuation trustees and the
possibility to earmark the funds for specific sectors; as well as Double Taxation
Agreements and their importance in the ease of doing business with other countries.

The Hon Craig Laundy MP
Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science
Regretting the general lack of business understanding in Canberra, Minister Laundy
outlined his vision for the State, as both a regulator and a business partner. Although red
tape and regulation will always exist, processes should be made easier and quicker for
companies through technology, in particular with the digitisation of the administration. The
Government recently launched a public testing of a new ‘one stop shop’ business
registration service to streamline application processes for new businesses.

The discussion then moved to defence contracts as catalysts for foreign investment in a
wide range of sectors and as drivers for R&D and innovation, while European defence
companies’ development in Australia, through the Australian Industry Capability
Programme (AIC), strongly benefits Australian firms in particular SMEs.

Other topics for
discussion included
the role of
universities and
CRCs in innovation
in Australia, and
initiatives from the
government to foster
collaboration
between SMEs and
the research
community,
including online
platforms such as
Data61 and Expert
Connect.

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2017 EABC Business Mission to Canberra
24-25 October 2017

Justin Brown
Deputy Secretary, DFAT
Justin Brown engaged with the Delegation on the
prospective Australia-EU FTA, and the expected
postponement of the launch of the negotiations
following disagreements among EU Member
States on the European Commission’s mandate.
Australia’s approach to the negotiations will be to
remain committed to maximizing trade and
investment liberalisation and ensuring that the
agreement remains consistent with Australia’s
values and laws.

Although environmental and social standards in
FTAs are under great scrutiny in Europe, Australia’s high sets of standards should prevent
tensions on these aspects. As with every FTA negotiation, negotiators will face difficulties
and can expect crises along the way, but will not deviate from their shared objective to
establish a comprehensive and ambitious economic partnership between Australia and the
EU. Discussion then included the role businesses can play in the process towards an FTA.
Justin Brown also updated the Delegation on other plurilateral agreements being
negotiated, including TiSA and TPP-11.

Tom Skladzien
Chief of Staff to the Shadow Minister
for Climate Change and Energy
Mark Butler’s Chief of Staff reaffirmed Labor’s
commitment to supporting investment in the
energy sector, especially to foster the transition
towards renewable energy sources while
providing the industry with reliable energy
schemes.

Crucial questions such as the carbon market
and the limits of international offsetting need to
be addressed in the design of a new energy
framework. The Opposition favours an
ambitious target for clean energy generation
and long-term objectives to provide investors
with greater clarity.

Australian domestic policies should echo its international commitment under the Paris
Agreement. Exchanges between the delegation and the Chief of Staff touched on the next
COAG Energy meeting in November; the challenges posed by climate change to the
insurance sector; as well as the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the proposition for
a Australian Manufacturing Future Fund.

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24-25 October 2017

The Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP
Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Shadow
Minister for Rural and Regional Australia
Regretting the relative failure of multilateral trade negotiations, Joel Fitzgibbon commented
on the Australia-EU FTA, emphasising Australia’s bipartisan support for the agriculture
sector and the importance of gaining greater market access for agriculture exports. The EU
is Australia’s highest value market, in particular for red meat, and represents great growth
opportunities for the sector.

There is, however, a need to balance Australian
farmers’ expectations regarding the role of the
FTAs and exports potentials, as it is too often
incorrectly perceived that greater market access
solves all other issues. In addition, Australia is
currently losing global market share and needs
to undertake strategic adjustment to foster
competitiveness in the agri-food sector, as well
as to ensure better resources allocation, create
economies of scale and increase the size and
technological advancement of farms.

Other topics for discussion included water management; food security; innovation in
agribusiness and technological challenges facing the sector.

Peter Woolcott AO
Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime
Minister
The Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister outlined
the Government’s current reform agenda,
including the clean energy reform. The
Government chose a pragmatic approach,
aiming to create a framework to enable long-
term investment whilst also providing reliable
and affordable energy to businesses and
citizens alike.

The Prime Minister is also engaging with his European counterparts to advocate for an
ambitious and comprehensive FTA between Australia and the EU, and is receiving strong
support from individual governments in each European capital. Other priorities include the
responses to the Productivity Review; the same sex marriage postal survey; and the
upcoming release of the Foreign Policy White Paper. The latter, expected by the end of
2017, will include a significant part on free trade and highlight the importance of business to
government relations in Australia’s trade agenda.

Participants also discussed Gonski 2.0 and future education reforms; and
recommendations from the Harper report and more recently the Productivity Review for the
health sector.

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2017 EABC Business Mission to Canberra
24-25 October 2017

The Hon Simon Birmingham MP
Minister for Education and Training
Minister Birmingham exchanged with the
Delegation on solutions to encourage closer
collaboration between businesses and the
education sector, particularly to foster innovation
and close the gap between fundamental
research and the commercialisation of products.

Education and vocational training will also play
a crucial role in training workers for emerging
and fast-growing sectors in need of skilled
labour, as is notably the case for Australia’s
major defence contracts, with an increasing
demand for engineers particularly in South
Australia.

The reform of the temporary work visa 457 was
also discussed, as its replacement could create
difficulties for European companies in bringing
skilled workers to Australia. Finally, participants
discussed the salient points of the Productivity
Review and elements on human capital.

The Hon Peter Dutton MP
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
Minister Dutton presented the Government’s
reform of the 457 visa, criticised by the general
public regarding its too wide application and the
tensions it created on the labour market for
Australian workers. The Minister described the
new Temporary Skills Shortage (TSS) visa as
more adapted to Australia’s needs, with a
reduced skills list and an emphasis on the
economic outcome of migrants.

The Minister then commented on the creation of
a Home Affairs portfolio, which is
expected to launch by early 2018, and its
responsibility in addressing both physical and cyber threats against Australia.

The Government has started a discussion with telecommunications and other critical
infrastructure stakeholders (including electricity, water and ports), on ways to better protect
Australian networks from potential malicious risks and interference.

The Delegation then exchanged with the Minister on the use of technology to balance
security requirements and convenience for users (e.g. eGates systems).

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24-25 October 2017

Senator the Hon George
Brandis QC
Attorney General
Beginning with the importance of the bilateral
relationship with the EU and the
Government’s support of the FTA, the
Attorney General continued with the political
challenges facing the Coalition in the Senate,
including same sex marriage, the clean
energy reform and national security
measures.

The Government will undertake reforms on espionage and foreign interference laws,
including a scheme to monitor foreign organisations whose objective is to influence
Australia’s political system. The Delegation then discussed the implications of this
particular reform for Australia’s universities. Other topics for discussion included
cybersecurity and the need to raise cyber-awareness, in particular among SMEs.

The Hon Alan Tudge MP
Minister for Human Services
Underscoring that welfare now comprises
one third of the federal government’s budget,
with yearly expenditure at $160 billion,
Minister Tudge commented on the
Government’s initiatives to encourage people
to move out of welfare dependency including
a $96 million ‘try, test and learn fund’ aiming
to allow states, territories and non-
government bodies such as academia and
stakeholders to road test ideas for reform.

Another key reform is the introduction of cashless welfare cards, designed to prevent
welfare money being spent on gambling, or buying drugs or alcohol. The Government also
wishes to pursue the digitisation of Australia’s welfare system. Delegates then exchanged
views with Minister Tudge on digital identity; digitisation of government services in
Scandinavian countries and Estonia; and the balance between digitisation and privacy.

The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP
Shadow Assistant Treasurer
Shadow Minister Leigh commented on his
recent trips to Europe and the US, and the
rising populism he witnessed in different
countries despite post-GFC economic
recovery. As detailed in his recent book
Choosing Openness, Andrew Leigh argued
that such populism stems from an uneven
redistribution of wealth in a globalised world.

Favouring multilateral trade agreements over bilateral ones, Andrew Leigh also called for
the creation of an International Agreement on Migration to deal more broadly with this
growing issue, and highlighted the strong gains for developing countries of temporary
migration, to help build skilled workers who then return to their countries of origin.

Discussion then included the Productivity Commission’s Review and management
initiatives to foster productivity and creativity within a company; innovation policies in
Australia, the gap between fundamental research and the commercialisation of products
and the correlation with Australia’s competition policy; education reforms and the
Scandinavian education model; as well as parenting and gender equality policies.

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24-25 October 2017

Delegation Profiles
             EABC Deputy Chair - The Hon Simon Crean
             Member, Monash University Council; Chairman, Australian Livestock Exporters Council; Director, Linfox; former
             Minister for Trade; former Leader of the Opposition; former Minister for Education; former Minister for
             Employment and Workplace Relations, former President, Australian Council of Trade Unions

             Angus Armour (EABC Board)
             Managing Director and CEO, Australian Institute of Company Directors; Trustee, Committee for Economic
             Development of Australia; Adjunct Professor, School of Business, University of Technology Sydney; former
             Principal Advisor, Business Council of Australia; Deputy Secretary for Industry, Innovation, Hospitality and the
             Arts, NSW Department of Industry; former CEO & Managing Director, Export Finance and Insurance Corporation

             Lisa Backhouse
             Executive Manager Government, Industry and Public Policy, Suncorp Group; former Director,
             Southern Queensland Country Tourism; former Manager Corporate Affairs, New Hope Group;
             former Director, Premium Public Relations; former National News Presenter & Reporter, ABC,
             Channel 9, and Network Ten

             Michel-Henri Carriol
             Chairman and Managing Director, Filatex; Advisor to the French Government on International Trade; former
             Chairman & Managing Director, Trimex; former Trade Attaché, Embassy of France in Australia

             Gary Dawson
             Vice President Strategy, Thales Australia; former Chief Executive, Australian Food and Grocery Council;
             former Vice President Communications & External Affairs, Thales; former Director Communications, ABC;
             former Director Communications, Law Society of NSW; former Senior Advisor, Prime Minister of Australia;
             former Director Economics, ACT Chief Minister

             Håkan Eriksson (EABC Corporate Council)
             Group CTO, Telstra; Victoria National Councillor and Vice President, Australia Industry Group; former
             Group CTO, Ericsson; former CEO Ericsson Australia and New Zealand; former CSO, Ericsson South
             East Asia and Oceania; former Deputy Chairman, Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association

            Gavin Jackman (EABC Board)
            Principal, Antinomies Pty Ltd; Member of the Faculty, Centre for Corporate Public Affairs; Adviser - Homes for
            Homes, The Big Issue; Former Executive Global Head of Corporate Affairs, Orica; former Group Executive
            Public Affairs, Santos; former Director of Government Affairs, BP Australia; former Senior Advisor to the Prime
            Minister of Australia, former Chief of Staff to a Federal Cabinet Minister

            Dr Alex Joiner
            Chief Economist, IFM Investors; Member, IFM Investment Committee; former Chief Economist, Bank of America
            Merrill Lynch for Australia and New Zealand; former Senior Economist, ANZ Bank

            Andrew Low (EABC Board)
            Chairman, CITIC CLSA Australia; Head of Global M&A, CITIC CLSA; Member, Australian Institute of
            Company Directors; Executive, Australia Japan Business Council; Board Member, Advisory Board of Asia
            Society in Hong Kong; former Head of Macquarie Capital Asia, Macquarie Group

            Andrew McCallum
             Global Manager - Trade & Market Access, Meat & Livestock Australia; former GM, Solutions Marketing &
             Research; former Senior Research Officer, Australia Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics

            Paul McClintock AO (EABC Corporate Council)
            Chairman, Broadspectrum; NSW Ports; I-MED Network; Myer; CEDA;
            Director, The George Institute for Global Health; Director, St Vincent’s Health Australia; former Secretary to
            Cabinet and Head of the Cabinet Policy Unit; former Chairman, Thales Australia

             David McCredie
             CEO, Australian British Chamber of Commerce; former Relationship Manager, Hunter Business Chamber

            Russell Miller AM (EABC Corporate Council)
            Convenor, Centre for Strategy & Governance; Commissioner, NSW Planning Assessment Commission;
            Chair, Royal Australian Mint Advisory Board; former Chair - Minter Ellison, International Air Services
            Commission; former Director, National Electricity Code; Administrator, Australian Bureau of Meteorology

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24-25 October 2017

Delegation Profiles
             Sue Morphet (EABC Corporate Council)
             Chairman, National Tiles; Director, Noni B; Director, Godfreys; Director, Asaleo Care; Director Fisher & Paykel
             Appliances Holdings New Zealand; former Chairman, Manufacturing Australia; former CEO and Board
             Director, Pacific Brands

             Peter Murphy
             Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Novartis Australia & New Zealand; former Head of Oncology
             Affairs Asia Pacific & South Africa Region, Novartis; former Senior Account Manager, Edelman Public
             Relations

             Kate O’Loughlin
             Head of Government Relations & Industry Affairs, QBE Australia & New Zealand; former Company Secretary
             Governance & Regulatory Affairs Australia, QBE Insurance; former General Counsel/Company Secretary,
             QBE LMI

             Nick Park
             Head of Australian Federal Government Relations, BHP; former Manager Issues Management and Public
             Policy, BHP; former Senior Manager Government Relations and Public Policy - Coal, BHP; former Manager
             Government Affairs, BG Group

             François Romanet (EABC Board)
             President, French Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; President Australasia, Naval Group;
             former CEO, SAFRAN Pacific; Member, French Foreign Trade Advisors (Australian Committee); former
             Managing Director, Sagem Australasia; former Chairman, Board of the French International School of Sydney

             Nicholas Scofield
             Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Allianz Australia; former Senior Economic Advisor, Department of the Prime
             Minister and Cabinet; former Executive Assistant to the Secretary; former Member, Republic Referendum
             Taskforce

             Melanie Sutton
             General Manager, Markets and Policy, Acciona Energy; former Associate Director, Strategic Economies
             Consultancy Group; former Director, SAHA International; former Associate Director, PwC; former
             Environmental Products Trader, Nuon; former Associate, Enron

             Vicki Thomson (EABC Board)
             Chief Executive, The Group of Eight; former Executive Director, Australian Technology Network of Universities;
             former Director of Communications, Universities Australia; former Chief of Staff, South Australian Government;
             former Political Reporter, ABC

EABC Secretariat
             Jason Collins
             Chief Executive Officer, European Australian Business Council; Board Member, European Business
             Organisations Worldwide; Member, NSW Export & Investment Advisory Board (NSW Government), Director,
             Australia Youth Trust

             Tim Goulain
             Director, Policy & Networks, European Australian Business Council

             Jo Johns
             Director, Membership & Programmes and Company Secretary, European Australian Business Council

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