In 2014, McKinsey Australia produced a report entitled ‘Compete to Prosper: Improving Australia’s global competitiveness’. The report pointed to increasing Australia’s international trade, opening our economy, and playing to Australia’s comparative advantages (natural resource endowments and a highly skilled workforce) as the key drivers of our future international competitiveness.  

In the ten years since that report was written, geostrategic competition between the United States and China, the climate challenge and the digitisation of the global economy and evolution of AI are altering domestic economic policy priorities. In place of market opening and trade liberalisation, national security and emissions reduction policies are seeing increased trade barriers and government intervention in markets. Australia is no exception with our own ‘Future Made in Australia’ policies and support programs.

The ACITI2024 Annual Conference asks if the sources of our international economic competitiveness that have grown the Australian economy for the past 50 years remain relevant in the new global economy. Are our natural resource endowments and skilled workforce enough to build commercially profitable solar, green hydrogen and critical minerals processing industries without ongoing government support? Can Australian government and business navigate the geostrategic forces at play to build and sustain these industries and others threatened by the weaponisation of trade and investment policies? What do Australian businesses identify as their key international competitive strengths and weaknesses in the current environment? Are there alternative approaches to industry policy that would achieve economic growth, national security objectives and reduce our carbon emissions? These are just some of the questions up for discussion at the ACITI 2024 Annual Conference.