Business Council of Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

The Business Council of Australia (BCA) represents the chief executives of approximately 100 large Australian corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable - a spin-off of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia - and the Australian Industry Development Association. Its current president is Greig Gailey. The organisation is headquartered in Melbourne with offices in Sydney and Canberra.

Its stated reason for existence is to give the business community a greater voice in public policy debates about the direction of Australian society.

Contents

[edit] Structure

While all members of the Business Council have equal representation, decision-making is often delegated to the Board, Council Task Forces and the Secretariat.

[edit] Board

The BCA Board has responsibility for the administration of the Secretariat and makes recommendations to the full Business Council on issues concerning membership and Task Force appointments. It is also responsible for identifying policy issues, proposing the Council's policy agenda, and general agenda-setting and policy-making.

Current Business Council Board members are:

The Secretariat comprises the Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Executive and five Directors to support, co-ordinate and facilitate the work of each Task Force. Research assistance and secretarial support is also provided. Current secretariat members are:

  • Ms Katie Lahey, Chief Executive
  • Ms Melinda Cilento, Deputy CEO
  • Mr Patrick Coleman, Director Policy
  • Ms Allesandra Fabro, Director Policy
  • Ms Freya Marsden, Director Policy
  • Ms Maria Tarrant, Director Policy
  • Mr David Walker, Director, Strategic Communications and Advocacy

[edit] Policy

The BCA supported many of the Howard Government's policies, including its industrial relations reforms [1]. The reform agenda of the BCA ranges from industrial relations such as WorkChoices and tax reform, to the more controversial full privatisation of major national and state utilities such as the Snowy Mountains Scheme. It also advocates the privatisation and commodification of water rights. It has also backed the development of an emissions trading scheme, and advocated higher pay for outstanding teachers.

The BCA lobbies the Australian Government and the Council of Australian Governments to effect policy changes.

In June 2009, it called for taxes to be increased on consumer goods but halved for corporations. The council made the call in a submission, entitled Unrealised Gains, to the Henry Tax Review. It said the Goods and Services Tax should be increased from its current rate of 10 per cent; while corporate tax should be cut to 15 per cent, from its current rate of 30 per cent.[2]

[edit] Membership

As of 2007, membership of the BCA totals 106 companies [1], and includes Australia's mining giants, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, as well as the 4 major banks - National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac - and most of Australia's largest manufacturers and business services firms.

[edit] See also

Australia portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Business Council backs IR reforms, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 2005.
  2. ^ Business Council pushes for GST increase , Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Retrieved 16 June 2009.

Original article:

 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)


[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Council_of_Australia"
Personal tools