Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia (part 1 of 2) — hearing of 29 July 2026: transcript & video · Polyfact

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Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia (part 1 of 2)

28 July 2026

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Contents updated on 22 Oct 2026

Opening of the hearing and initial panel evidence on positioning nature and natural capital within Australia’s productivity agenda, including metrics, funding instruments and the design of the Nature Repair Market.

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Opening context and nature–productivity framework

10:08

Opening — framing nature, productivity and witnesses

10:08

Committee opening and witness introductions

10:08

Nature as economic infrastructure — ALCA opening

12:46

Bioregional planning and investment instruments — ACBF opening

16:34

Biodiversity’s contribution to GDP and sectoral examples

19:40

Public funding, harmful subsidies and call for Productivity Commission review

23:24

Invasive species policy, funding instruments and product stewardship

24:43

Chair’s priorities and shift to invasive species policy

24:43

Invasive species — funding models and private finance

26:37

Biosecurity, existing NRM infrastructure and ecommerce pathways

30:35

ACCUs for invasives and obligations of public land managers

34:48

Further funding instruments and extended producer responsibility

39:53

Redefining productivity — natural capital, metrics and Treasury’s role

42:41

Measuring productivity and fossil fuels’ overstated contribution

42:41

Beyond GDP: natural capital accounts and mandatory nature disclosures

48:49

Australia’s comparative leadership and gaps in natural capital policy

52:51

Nature Repair Market — demand, offsets and instrument design

56:26

Nature Repair Market — demand creation and links to EU rules

56:26

Nature repair, biodiversity offsets and caution on instrument-first design

59:56

CFMEU inquiries — corruption risks and economic impacts

01:08:36

CFMEU investigations — commissioning, methods and procurement risks

01:08:36

Witness changeover and introduction of Geoffrey Watson SC

01:08:36

Origins and scope of CFMEU investigations

01:11:45

Union-preference procurement and enterprise bargaining as corruption gateway

01:20:23

Estimating the $15 billion CFMEU cost and impacts on honest contractors

01:24:19

ABCC’s limits and need for federal leverage over state projects

01:30:26

Tier‑one builders, subcontractor control and ministerial responsibility

01:34:41

Union corruption — jurisdictional patterns, social impacts and penalties

01:49:00

Royal Commissions and jurisdictional differences in union corruption

01:49:00

Housing impacts, CBUS super and personal payment orders

01:53:23

Infrastructure investment, construction productivity and integrity

02:11:45

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia — planning delays, funding leverage and carbon

02:11:45

Transition to infrastructure policy — Infrastructure Partnerships Australia

02:11:45

Infrastructure investment trends, population growth and road user charging

02:15:12

Construction sector corruption and procurement conditionality

02:19:50

Whole‑of‑life carbon reporting and innovation in materials

02:24:40

Labour, licensing, technology and superannuation settings for infrastructure

02:28:27

National licensing harmonisation, productivity clauses and tech adoption

02:28:27

Your Future, Your Super tests and superannuation for infrastructure

02:36:31

Australian Constructors Association — construction productivity, integrity and funding leverage

02:40:45

Australian Constructors Association — productivity, pipeline and industrialisation

02:40:45

CFMEU conduct, culture standards and industrial relations reforms

02:43:10

Tier‑one responsibilities, hiring ex‑officials and Commonwealth funding leverage

02:47:36

Disaggregating productivity and business R&D in tier‑one constructors

03:01:10

Migration, skills utilisation, security and population planning

03:06:46

Community and small business panel — migrant skills, youth pathways and regional tax burdens

03:06:46

Little India Traders and Serus Care — framing ‘removing the handbrake’

03:06:46

Underutilised skilled migrants and professional bottlenecks

03:13:24

Bias, contribution recognition and cultural barriers to employment

03:21:03

Domestic settlement before new intakes and AI in recruitment

03:26:36

Youth perspective on education and connection to real economy

03:29:43

Small business tax changes, compliance burden and regional impacts

03:42:34

Mike Pizzullo — migration settings, temporary visa overhang and values enforcement

03:46:31

Mike Pizzullo introduces a migration‑productivity lens

03:46:31

Temporary visa overhang, bridging visas and departmental capacity

03:48:50

Australian Values Statement and individualised risk assessment

04:00:22

Social cohesion, temporary visas and house rules

04:03:56

Security, regional visas and a population–housing compact

04:09:26

Homegrown extremism, second‑generation risks and deradicalisation

04:09:26

Regionalised permanent visas, digital platforms and National Cabinet’s role

04:18:01

Lack of housing‑migration modelling and need for a population compact

04:25:30

Construction industrial relations, regulation and safety oversight

05:11:21

Master Builders and Federal Safety Commissioner — industrial relations, regulation and safety accreditation

05:11:21

Master Builders — CFMEU conduct and productivity decline

05:11:21

BPIC policy’s cost impact and need for building codes

05:16:40

National Construction Code changes and cost of new homes

05:26:05

Workforce shortages, apprenticeships and mobility barriers

05:34:06

Federal Safety Commissioner — scheme purpose and scope

05:37:34

Accreditation criteria vs state WHS laws and scheme costs

05:40:28

Interaction with unions, Murray‑Boland review and HAFF expansion

05:46:53

Good practice in planning, AI for safety and future directions

05:57:31

Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia (part 1 of 2)

28 July 2026

Senate Select Committee on Productivity in Australia Wed, 29 Jul 2026 Australian Parliament

10:06 - 10:07

Yes.

10:07 - 11:25

Speaker 11

K. I declare open this hearing of the senate committee on productivity in Australia. I begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians. The committee will be conducting today's hearing in person and via video conference. I'm senator Bragg, chair of the committee.

I'm joined by senator Doman Mackenzie and senator Ananda Raja. These are public proceedings being streamed live via the parliamentary website, and a hand side transcript is being made. I remind all witnesses that in giving evidence to the committee, they are protected by parliamentary privilege. It is unlawful for anyone to threaten or disadvantage a witness on account of evidence given to a committee, and such action may be treated by the senate as a contempt. It is also a contempt to give false or misleading evidence.

Witnesses also have a right to request to be heard in camera. If a witness objects to answering a question, they should state the ground upon which the objection is being made, and the committee will determine whether it will insist on an answer having regard to the ground which is claimed. If the committee determines to insist on an answer, a witness may request that the answer be given in camera. I remind senators of the obligations under the behavior code for Australian parliamentarians to treat witnesses with courtesy, dignity, fairness, and respect. I remind committee members and witnesses who are not speaking to mute the microphones, and I now welcome representatives of the Australian Land Conservation Alliance, the Australian Climate and Biodiversity Foundation, and the Biodiversity Council via video conference.

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