James Pearson is the new face of the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Following in the steps of Canberra’s own Kate Carnell, James brings a lot of experience from his time in Western Australia working for companies such as Chevron and Shell before moving to the state-based Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Western Australia.

Within three short months, Mr Pearson has managed the Chamber through a Federal Election and dealt with the aftermath – including the Prime Minister’s surprise move that shifted the Small Business portfolio in the outer ministry.

With a fragile government and a predicted cut in interest rates on the horizon, just how confident can Australian business be? More importantly, what is ACCI’s role in these turbulent times?.

 

 

Congratulations on the first six months. Your position has a high profile in Canberra, due to your influence on government and the visibility of your predecessor.

Any early lessons?

I’m really amazed by how quickly the outcome of the election has turned into a discussion on how business advocates for its interests.

We need to understand whether the current way that politics and advocacy is done in Australia, or whether the more reactive style is a better response to big shocks like the Global Financial Crisis -  not just in Australia, but across western economies.

In saying that, I’ve certainly learned a lot of lessons! There are plenty of issues that have arisen over the last three months, but am still working on the correct solutions. Along with the board, I’m really committed to developing long-term strategies to benefit business, but we’re all very conscious of the need to move quickly and lead in a decisive manner.

We need to strike a careful balance between the analysis and decision-making. I won’t get stuck in the trap of paralysis-through-analysis, but am highly aware that if there is a simple solution to a complex problem, then it’s probably the wrong solution.

 

You came out of Western Australia during the glory years – a state that has been something of a barometer for the national economy. With your experience in the mining and resources sector and a shift into business advocacy through the state’s chamber, what opportunities does this national platform present?

Well, I’ve certainly come to the conclusion that nothing is permanent! You simply must – as a business or as a government – take advantage of the times of plenty and make the really hard decisions for the long term that are going to be of benefit when the money stops flowing.

When times are tough, it’s harder to bring people with you and, importantly, you have a much smaller margin for error.

This is particularly true in a political sense. At the Federal level you have three years and in the states usually four years to make the tough calls and implement them between elections. For business, it’s even tighter where you are held to account every quarter by your shareholders or, if you’re a publicly-listed company, the market judges you every single day.

At a Federal politics level, we’re clearly seeing the impact of this, where people are now feeling anxious and are much less likely to embrace reforms that might hurt them further – irrespective of the long-term benefit.

 

 

In a recent interview with Michelle Grattan, you said that the great thing about business is it gets up and goes to work every day. Surely they can hope for more than that though?

I’m always worried that business will be taken for granted. One of the things I love about Western Australia is that not only is it heavily reliant on the private sector, but it is immensely proud of the sector.

West Australians are very aware that their quality of life is closely tied to the strength and health of the private secto, and that largely – but not exclusively – that is tied to the resources industry.

 

Do you think Western Australia considers itself almost separate to the rest of Australia - particularly in economic terms?

You can’t deny is the fact that there is a strong perception among its population that Canberra takes money and that Western Australia gives it money. One thing that has struck me since moving to Canberra is that as far as Canberra seemed to be from Perth, Perth seems a lot further away from Canberra.

Understanding this means that I have a strong focus on strong communication with the state-based chambers to ensure they feel there is a close link with Canberra – and that the national body has an understanding if the issue that affect each jurisdiction – especially outside the South-East corner of the country.

Politically, the country may be run from this part of Australia, but governments ignore what is happening in the regions at their peril. If I can assist with that messaging through my advocacy, then it will be a great result for both sides of the issue.

 

 

Shifting to the contemporary, Sensis released its quarterly Business Confidence data this week and reported the highest level in five years despite there being less confidence in the government that at any time over the last two years.

We certainly want to close that gap. The idea that business is moving along by itself while not believing in government policy means that there is a lost opportunity for Government to help business do things better.

Business really does need support, particularly at a time when there is uncertainty – both domestically and internationally. By support, more often than not that means less law rather than more.

I understand that politicians can sometimes think that their job is to make law. I would say that their job is to govern the country and to ensure that the laws and regulations encourage economic growth and opportunity for as many of us citizens as possible.

Sometimes that means getting rid of laws that offer little benefit or reduce efficiency. I really like the initiative that was brought in at the federal level and has been picked up by the state where we have ‘repeal days’ where obsolete laws are struck from the books.

It’s important to reduce red tape. Particularly for mall business who find that managing their compliance obligations can really impact upon family time. A lot of small business owners spend their evenings and weekends doing the paperwork required by government to keep their business afloat.

That’s not a great incentive to go into business.

 

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To read Part II of our interview with ACCI CEO, James Pearson click here.