Dear All,
This last month has seen interest rates rise again with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) increasing the cash rate target up to 1.85%. There are many global factors accounting for this hike such as disruptions to supply chains, the war in Ukraine and strong demand which is putting pressure on productive capacity. Closer to home we continue to see strong demand, low unemployment, the effects of flooding on the Eastern seaboard and capacity constraints in certain industries. According to the Financial Review, the rate increases that have been applied by the lenders to the variable mortgage rate means that borrowers are seeing significant increases in their monthly mortgage repayments since May. Data also shows CPI figures across Australia for the year up to June 22 rose to 6.1% and Western Australia came in highest at 7.4%. The most significant price rises were new dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers(+5.6%), automotive fuel (+4.2%) and furniture (+7.0%).
Our members large and small are reporting back that wages and salaries growth are of concern at present as people adapt to the rising costs. Some of the increases recently witnessed in our community do raise the question how sustainable are they when inflation starts to moderate in the future. It will be interesting to see at the up-and-coming Federal Jobs Summit how Unions and businesses will collaborate to seek genuine changes to the bargaining system. All our business members strive so hard to gain profits for their organisations which are the product of huge personal investment, both financial and time. It would be a shame to see a demonising of Profit that would signal a narrow and unappreciative stance of the very life blood of business. We will look carefully how this summit evolves hoping that all parties can make effective and practical benefits to the bargaining system.
The South West Leaders program was launched this month and an amazing 146 people have joined the program for this 12 month long leadership journey. Many of our members have joined as Mentors or Mentees and the first meetings are already occurring throughout the cafes/offices of our region as people build these essential skills. District Superintendent Geoff Stewart, Jodie Hanns MLA and our very own Kristy Gillian conducted the launch to the participants at an online session. We will stay tuned as this program develops and report back frequently on how our members are benefitting.
The Business Council of Australia recently released a very interesting report titled “Releasing the handbrakes on growth” which puts forward the urgent and simple reforms that can help clear bottlenecks and blockages that are a drag on our economic growth and make cost of living pressures worse for Australians. In the report it highlights various cases where streamlining can make a huge difference. For example, paperless international trade alone could lift GDP up to $1.7 billion a year and reduce costs.
A major part of the report focusses on how we can unlock the labour/skills shortages that effect our local economy. As one business owner recently shared with us regarding recruitment, “We all appear to be fishing from the same pond, what we need is new stocks of fish into the pond”. The report lists the following points to addressing workplace shortages:
- Get people into the country by expediting visa processing, including through additional resourcing and relaxed eligibility checks based on a risk management approach.
- Get trucks back on the road and moving goods around the country by prioritising reforms to heavy vehicle driver training to help ease the chronic shortage of truck drivers.
- Extend the relaxation of restrictions on international students’ maximum working hours through to the end of 2022.
- Pilot a Lifetime Skills Account to support upskilling and reskilling for Australians over the age of 30.
As a Chamber we will continue to address these issues with State and Federal governments, further advertise the South West Direct Area Migration Agreement (DAMA) program and help at all opportunities to assist our loyal membership in removing these barriers of trading. We look forward to working with these governments to ensure the South West can sustainably grow productivity and create education and employment opportunities for everyone in our wonderful community.
Safe Trading,
Danny Griffin
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