Business leaders will meet with the Prime Minister and First Ministers in Canberra on Thursday to discuss ways to seize the opportunities of the Asian Century by lifting productivity through regulatory and competition reform.
The Gillard Government's plan to secure the nation's economic future is underpinned by a broad productivity agenda centred on five pillars - tax reform, skills and education, innovation, infrastructure and broadband and, the focus of this meeting, regulatory and competition reform.
This will be the second meeting of the Business Advisory Forum (BAF), ahead of the COAG meeting on Friday.
All states and territories will be represented at the BAF, with Premiers and Chief Ministers from the ACT, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria attending.
Queensland and Western Australia will be represented by officers from their respective Departments of Premier and Cabinet.
Local Government will be represented by the President of the Australian Local Government Association.
Business leaders attending the meeting will be:
Mr Michael Fraser (AGL Energy)Mr Innes Willox (Australian Industry Group)Mr Peter Anderson (Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry)Mr Ross Pilling (BASF Australia)Ms Catherine Tanna (BG Australia)Dr Marius Kloppers (BHP Billiton)Dr Ian Thomas (Boeing Australia & South Pacific)Mr Tony Shepherd AO (Business Council of Australia)Mr Nigel McBride (Business SA)Mr Peter Strong (Council of Small Business of Australia)Mr Craig Arnold (Dow Chemical Australia and New Zealand)Mr Dale Elphinstone (Elphinstone)Mr Nick Leeder (Google Australia)Mr David Crombie (GRM International)Mr David Tudehope (Macquarie Telecom)Mr Stephen Cartwright (NSW Business Chamber)Mr Grant King (Origin Energy)Mr David Peever (Rio Tinto Australia)Ms Ann Pickard (Shell)Ms Kerrie Mather Sydney Airport)Mr Grant O'Brien (Woolworths)
Following the inaugural Business Advisory Forum in April, COAG agreed to an ambitious regulatory and competition reform agenda.
This agenda included energy market reform, streamlining environmental regulation, major projects and development assessments and rationalising carbon reduction and energy efficiency schemes.
Progress on these issues will be discussed, along with ways in which all Governments can lift regulatory performance.
Leaders will also discuss Seamless National Economy reform priorities to reduce red-tape for business, increase productivity and enable an efficient economy where resources can move to where they can make the greatest economic contribution.