Every day is grand final day, BHP Billiton's Andrew Mackenzie tells employees

Every day is grand final day at work, BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie has told employees, telling them that they need to be more flexible if they want to earn higher wages.

Speaking at the Australian Financial Review's Business Summit Mr Mackenzie also conceded that BHP had been "unprepared for what has been the greatest commodities boom of our time".

He called for tax and workplace reform to keep Australia internationally competitive. But he said that workplace issues in Australia were already relatively straightforward compared to other nations, meaning any advances could deliver real competitive benefits.

"I don't think industrial relations is a massive problem in this country, relative to other countries in which we operate, so this is as much of an opportunity," he said.

"We need to have a work place where people feel ... that they are coming to work each day to compete in the grand final and [that] therefore they are OK to change their way of working in order to be more competitive, to ultimately earn the right to be paid more."

Mr Mackenzie argued flexibility was a key issue for BHP. "We want a simplification that allows us to change their agreements around work ...that we think will favour the growing competitiveness of an Australian workplace which will guarantee more jobs and investment," he said.

Mr Mackenzie pointed to the abrupt end of the mining boom as the kind of development that demanded flexibility to remain competitive.

While BHP was on top of the trends that lead to end of the boom, "we didn't expect the scale and the speed with which it happened", he said.

While the boom had helped lift "hundreds of millions of people across China and Asia" out of poverty, the end of that boom "has taught us all a critical lesson.

"There are no certainties in the 21st century and the state of the global economy reflects this." 

However, Mr Mackenzie said BHP, which is a sponsor of the conference, had weathered the cycles of the mining sector many times over its 130-year history.

This was why "the return to normality in prices and demand in the commodities sector today is not cause for long-term pessimism", he said.

"The perspective we gained through experience told us that the super profits of the past decade simply could not be sustained.

"Sooner or later natural market forces would bring prices back down to earth and when that happened the same approach that saw us prosper … would see us prosper again."

Regardless of ups and downs, BHP needed to invest through the cycle so it can grab opportunities when they arise, Mr Mackenzie said, adding that Australia needs to be able to the same as a nation.

"The time has come for this nation to renew its commitment to creating a stronger future, cast its ambitions beyond the horizon again and plan, invest, and act to create a more prosperous and resilient Australia."

He said Australia must look to boost its productivity and said that it is "in the national interest to simplify workplace agreements so that our teams have the flexibility to succeed in the global market."

"At BHP Billiton, we're concerned about the taxes that impact on competitiveness and productivity such as company tax. Australia has a higher company tax rate than the OECD average of 25 per cent."