Sabra Lane: The Federal Government's Economic Summit is days away, but we now know the direction the Treasurer's Department would like those talks to go. A pre-written list of potential outcomes has been leaked. The ABC sent a list of possible announcements, including pausing changes to the National Construction Code, a policy similar to the one former Coalition leader Peter Dutton took to the last election. Political reporter Isobel Rowe is at Parliament House in Canberra. Isabel, what does this document say?
Isobel Roe: Well this is a list of more than a dozen points prepared by Treasury for Cabinet, which I have seen, and it's a list of recommendations or potential outcomes that could come from this three-day productivity talk next week. There's a real focus on housing approvals, and I know that that has been a real government focus. Most significant one is the pausing of changes to the National Construction Code, which governs minimum standards, amenities, sustainability in new housing. This is a Coalition policy, or very similar to one that they took to the last election. They were proposing a 10-year freeze on any changes to this code to reduce red tape for the building sector, and Labor dismissed that policy at the time. The then Industry Minister Ed Husic accused the Opposition of wanting Australians to live in shoddy homes. Now this Treasury advice to government doesn't say how long that the code should be paused, but Master Builders Australia has been lobbying for a four-year pause on the code while the government tries to reach its 1.2 million home target. The government doesn't have to accept this list, but the Master Builders Australia Chief Executive Denita Wawn has told me she does believe that there is an appetite.
Denita Wawn: I think the Albanese government is sympathetic to our concerns around continuing changes to the NCC while we're desperately trying to meet the Housing Accord targets. The proposal that the industry has put to government is not necessarily the same as what the Coalition took to the last election. They asked for a much longer period of time and no review. That is not our ask. Our ask is you pause it for residential, you review the whole document.
Isobel Roe: Now there is also on this list a bit of a focus on environmental law reform as an answer to some of the productivity woes. It seems a bit of a centrepiece here. The Department of Advice recommends a National Artificial Intelligence Plan focused on speeding up approvals. It also suggests that the government needs to clear a backlog of 30,000 homes being held up by the EPBC Act assessment process. And we know that the Environment Minister is attempting to rewrite those environmental laws at the moment.
Sabra Lane: The Federal Treasurer said he is open to all ideas at this forum. So how significant is this pre-written list of recommendations?
Isobel Roe: Well the list has been prepared for Cabinet and so it does suggest that this is the direction that the Treasurer's Department wants to get out of these talks. The opposition has accused the government previously of holding a talk fest with this roundtable next week. But when we went to the Treasurer's office to respond to this story, a spokesman for the Treasurer said that this list is nothing unusual. He said that they weren't pre-empting ideas but Treasury is preparing for them as you would expect and it should come as no surprise that Treasury provides advice on issues raised with government in the context of this roundtable. This may not be an exhaustive list but what it doesn't show is any major tax reform such as changes to capital gains tax or negative gearing and so that does match what the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been hinting at with this roundtable, that he would rather stick with tax policy that he's already taken to the election.
Sabra Lane: Isobel Roe there.