BCA panel warns of over-reliance on mining
Mr Every, speaking at a lunch in Sydney on Friday, said the percentage contribution of value-adding to Australia's economic growth had halved in the past 50 years, and he was "really concerned about a hollowing out of the economy".
"We're more of a quarry now than we were 50 years ago," the Wesfarmers chairman said.
Mr Every will lead a "chairman's panel" for the Business Council on strategies to improve value-adding in key sectors of the economy, part of a long-term vision document to be released mid-year.
Mr Every, who also chairs Boral and is a former chief executive of OneSteel, said while he was optimistic about a US recovery, and believed that Europe would "bumble through" its woes, Australia could not rely on China to drive its economy.
Wesfarmers former powerhouse resources division, which includes the Curragh and Bengalla coal mines in Queensland's Bowen Basin, is barely profitable and has been a drag on the company's earnings.
Mr Every said the non-resources sectors of the economy were
struggling and Australia, which had high labour and energy costs, had to face up to challenges including an ageing population by embracing taxation and industrial relations reform.
He said in recent years, Australia's labour laws had "gone back 10 to 15 years", though adding, "we probably went a step too far with WorkChoices".
Oz Minerals and Incitec Pivot director Rebecca McGrath, who also spoke at the lunch, said "for manufacturing to survive and
prosper, we need to have access to competitively-priced energy".
Noting the loss of refining capacity in Australia, Ms McGrath said the country was a "backwater" in global energy markets and should not take its access to imported fuels for granted.
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Wesfarmers chairman Bob Every, who is heading a Business Council of Australia panel, warned that Australia is too reliant on the resources industry and is becoming more of a quarry than a diversified economy. The panel is examining the decline in value-adding and manufacturing and will propose strategies to boost those sectors.
According to Bob Every, the percentage contribution of value-adding to Australia's economic growth has halved over the past 50 years, a trend the panel says is worrying and risks 'hollowing out' the economy.
Mr Every will lead a 'chairman's panel' to develop strategies to improve value-adding in key sectors. The work is part of a long-term vision document the Business Council plans to release mid-year.
Every said he was optimistic about a US recovery and expected Europe to 'bumble through' its problems, but cautioned that Australia cannot rely on China alone to drive its economy.
The article notes Wesfarmers' former resources division — which includes the Curragh and Bengalla coal mines in Queensland's Bowen Basin — is barely profitable and has been a drag on the company's earnings.
Oz Minerals and Incitec Pivot director Rebecca McGrath warned that for manufacturing to survive and prosper Australia needs access to competitively priced energy. She also noted the loss of refining capacity and said Australia is a 'backwater' in global energy markets, so access to imported fuels should not be taken for granted.
Bob Every said non-resources sectors are struggling and that Australia faces high labour and energy costs and an ageing population. He argued the country needs to embrace taxation and industrial relations reform, noting labour laws have gone backward in recent years, though he conceded past reforms such as WorkChoices may have gone too far.
The panel’s warnings—about a shrinking share of value-adding industries, high energy and labour costs, and over-reliance on resources—suggest investors should be aware of structural risks in the Australian economy. These dynamics can affect company earnings (as seen with Wesfarmers’ resources drag) and signal why policymakers and businesses are pushing for reforms to support manufacturing and broader economic resilience.
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