Business
  1. Home
  2. Business
  3. Economy
Save
Print
License article

Canberra chaos threatens investment: business leaders

Clancy Yeates

The dual citizenship chaos engulfing the federal government risks damaging Australia's reputation among foreign investors and could threaten much-needed investment if it is not resolved quickly, business leaders have warned.

Ahead of a critical High Court hearing next week, leaders called for a speedy resolution to the crisis that escalated on Friday when Senator Nick Xenophon joined the group of federal MPs who may unwittingly have been holding dual citizenship, which is not permitted under the constitution.

Up Next

I'm not a secret English agent: Shorten

null
Video duration
00:55

More National News Videos

null
Video duration
01:17

Citizenship net catches another
null
Video duration
00:55

I'm not a secret English agent: Shorten
null
Video duration
01:10

The Davos of Creativity comes to Melbourne
null
Video duration
00:29

Morgan Huxley's killer appeals 30-year ...
null
Video duration
01:35

You're doing ISIS' work: Hanson Young
null
Video duration
02:49

Julian Cadman killed in Barcelona attack
null
Video duration
01:21

Powerful moment for this politician
More videos

Citizenship net catches another

SA senator Nick Xenophon is checking his citizenship status after suggestions he inherited UK citizenship from his father.

David Murray, former Future Fund chairman and chief executive of the Commonwealth Bank, said the issue risked derailing the reputation of institutions such as the Parliament, which was a key consideration for foreign investors.

"The stability of the Parliament and the government, and their ability to continue their role is fundamental to the country and an important measure of comfort to foreign creditors and foreign investors," Mr Murray said.

Related Articles

"We've always been a capital importer, and those people have relied always on the stability of our institutions and our Parliament and government. A technicality like this shouldn't be allowed to derail that stability that we've shown to the rest of the world."

Roger Corbett, chairman of Mayne Pharma and former Woolworths chief executive, said such instability was harmful to confidence, and could deter investment when it was needed by the economy.

Advertisement

"It's very disruptive and it breaks confidence," Mr Corbett said.

"Stability and leadership from the government are very important aspects in providing confidence in the future. One of the things that has marked Australia's economy in the last few years has been a lack of non-mining, non-property investment."

Independent senator Cory Bernardi this week argued that Parliament should be suspended until the issue has been resolved, but business leaders rejected such an idea. Mr Corbett said suspending Parliament would be "the worst possible thing to do".

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott​ agreed, saying it would be disappointing if "political opportunism allows the parliamentary gears to grind to a halt".

"The community expects a functioning parliament whose members work hard to keep the country moving," she said.

Ai Group's chief executive Innes Willox​ said while the everyday machinery of government was still working normally, "long-term certainty" was being undermined as the crisis continued.

It's very disruptive and it breaks confidence.

Roger Corbett

"Regardless of what's happening in Parliament the machinery of government is still working normally. Taxes are still being collected and borders are open," he said.

"That said, boardrooms overseas have a wary eye on Australia and the longer the instability persists the higher the political risk."

Despite these concerns, other business leaders played down the significance of events in Canberra on the corporate world.

Wesfarmers chief executive Richard Goyder​ said Australia was still a "pretty good" environment for investing, even though he worried about the state of politics.

"From a personal point of view I probably worry … but I think the results we've released today prove that if you just get on with things, businesses like Wesfarmers can actually – notwithstanding the environment we're operating in – can actually do some really good stuff," he said this week at its profit result.

Darren Steinberg, chief executive of Dexus Property said investors seemed "comfortable" with the broader policies being pursue to support a stable economy.

"With all the changes that have happened in Canberra over the past few years … I think investors are becoming immune to the political shenanigans," he said.

QBE Group's chief executive John Neal said the issue was "very much in the background".

"I think all we can do is watch and react to political activity almost anywhere in the world, whether it's at home here or dealing with the European fallout post-Brexit, or indeed watching the Trump administration in the US," Mr Neal said.

National Australia Bank's chief economist Alan Oster​ said there was only one occasion in the 30-year history of the bank's business confidence survey where business confidence appeared to have been affected by politics. That occurred the month before Tony Abbott's election win in 2013, when business confidence surged.

with Patrick Hatch and Carolyn Cummins

Originally published on smh.com.au as 'Canberra chaos threatens investment: business leaders'.