Good morning,

Rising regulation and a stifling climate to invest and do business risk putting Australia on the road to becoming the “unlucky country”, marked by lower living standards, poorer job prospects and less opportunity.

Three business leaders have issued a stark warning of the damage being done to Australia as successive governments have all-but-abandoned the landmark reform agenda of the 1980s, through to the early 2000s.

In a roundtable hosted by The Australian and the Business Council of Australia, Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott, BP Australia president Lucy Nation and the boss of listed global medi-tech player Cochlear, Dig Howitt, called for bold productivity-boosting reforms to be put back on the national agenda.

Meanwhile, Australia’s “myopic” reluctance to approve gas developments on the east coast has cost economic opportunities and ultimately pushed global emissions higher, Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott said, in some of the most forthright comments from a national business leader on the country's attitude to gas. 

Elsewhere, Cbus chairman Wayne Swan has turned down a request to appear in front of a Senate committee to answer questions over allegations the superannuation fund mishandled death and disability payouts