I hope you are all faring well and are navigating your businesses around the latest challenges that appear to be constantly testing us all on such a regular basis.
To add to these challenges many of us watched with disbelief the aggression inflicted on the Ukrainians recently with the Russian invasion of this sovereign state. Although a hemisphere away, we are all feeling the economic ripples affecting us. The reverberations of this war are already hitting our petrol bowsers with crude oil prices almost double what they were prior to Christmas.
Even the increasingly unpopular mineral coal out of Newcastle has seen a price hike from $118/tonne to $412/tonne. It was interesting this month to listen to whether Reserve Bank Governor Philip Rowe would provide any hint that these latest global events would alter his ambition to keep unemployment below 4% and interest rates on hold. At this stage he appears to view these spikes as transitory and the greater indicator of wage growth which is currently at 2.2% will be the bigger trigger towards any future rates rise. A flip side to these rising fossil fuel costs could well be the attractiveness of renewable energy alternatives.
Economic data released last week confirms the resilience of our economy, however smart policy and hard work will be required to sustain long term growth. Regardless, the national accounts report is pleasing news for our economy. The full impact of Omicron restrictions especially here in Western Australia and global volatility remain to be seen, these numbers show Australia’s economy is resilient.
The upcoming federal budget should take full advantage of ensuring we become more competitive, drive investment, and ensure businesses have access to the skills they need, when they need them and hence provide employment. We are at a stage of recovery where we need to see a business-friendly budget on 29th March that unlocks the private sector to fuel the economy beyond the recent past government incentives and grants. We hope to see further support for skilled migrations, supporting apprenticeships, encouraging the removal of red tape restrictions on businesses and sending positive indicators for increased foreign investment into the economy.
Earlier this month, it was wonderful to see many organisations celebrating International Women’s Day. One local business informed us that they held a morning tea and trivia quiz at their facility and ensured that all employees took part. Aiming to spread the message across all groups and ensuring it is a full team effort in recognising the contribution of women in business is both economically and morally sound. In the upcoming Federal Budget, we hope that more policy is introduced to encourage women back into the workforce on such matters as shared paid parental leave bonuses.
We wish all our valued members well and look forward to getting to the other side of the current COVID-19 restrictions so you can take advantage of the exciting forums and initiatives we will be launching soon.
Safe Trading,
Danny Griffin
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