At this Centre for Independent Studies lunch forum on 20 October 2025, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley delivered a major address on restoring Australia’s economic strength. Following the speech, Sussan was joined by CIS Executive Director Michael Stutchbury for an extended Q&A session. Together, they spoke on the challenges of productivity decline, the role of competition policy in driving economic growth, and what governments can do to reverse falling living standards for the next generation.
Opposition Leader Ley said Australia’s economy was at a “turning point”, with productivity growth at its weakest in 60 years. She argued that OECD data shows Australia has had the biggest fall in living standards in the developed world.
Ley pledged that the Coalition’s economic strategy would centre on lowering personal income taxes and repairing the budget by curbing public spending. She noted that the average worker now pays 24.3% of their income in tax, up from 22.3% when John Howard left office in 2007. On workplace relations, Ley opposed Labor’s multi-employer bargaining laws, advocating instead for enterprise-level bargaining.
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