NAB CEO’s Bold Call to Tackle Australia’s Productivity Roadblocks
At the recent NAB Business Summit, chief executive Andrew Irvine delivered a powerful message: Australia’s long-standing “economic miracle” could stall unless urgent steps are taken to tackle the nation’s biggest productivity challenges. His warning carried weight, because for over a century, each generation in Australia has lived better than the one before. But according to Irvine, that promise is now under real threat.
He identified three main roadblocks. First, spiralling energy costs are strangling manufacturing and limiting economic dynamism. Second, the housing crisis is pushing the dream of home ownership further out of reach while also making it harder to attract the skilled migration that the country needs. And third, too many jobs being created are in low-productivity sectors like the public service and care economy. While Irvine acknowledged the importance of care roles in an ageing society, he insisted that businesses were being held back by excessive bureaucracy and red tape. “We’ve been talking about this for 10 years,” he said. “It’s time to stop talking and start acting.”
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One solution he highlighted was artificial intelligence. Comparing its potential impact to past industrial revolutions — such as the introduction of electricity, cars, and the internet — Irvine stressed that AI could reshape how Australians work and live. But he also made a sharp distinction: jobs themselves won’t simply vanish. Instead, people who embrace AI will replace those who don’t. In his words, “AI is not going to take away people’s jobs. People using AI are going to take the jobs of people not using AI.” His call was clear: Australians need to learn, adapt, and move forward without fear.
The summit’s panel — including Andrew Auerbach, NAB’s new head of Business and Private Banking, and Cath Carver, Group Executive for Corporate and Institutional Banking — reinforced Irvine’s outlook. Auerbach said business confidence was bouncing back, pointing to NAB’s own survey showing optimism at its strongest since 2022. He argued that Australia, despite global uncertainty, is in a strong position to benefit from shifting investment flows and geopolitical changes. Carver added that overseas pension funds and asset managers were increasingly pouring money into Australian agriculture and renewable energy, attracted by the nation’s stability and opportunity.
Irvine also reminded his audience that history is full of lessons about missed chances. Companies like Kodak and Blockbuster disappeared because they failed to adapt. Australia, he suggested, cannot afford that same complacency. Signs of recovery are visible — interest rates easing pressure on households, confidence rising, and capital flowing into the country — but only if everyone leans in.
The message from the NAB summit was straightforward yet urgent: productivity reforms, AI adoption, and simplification of business processes must happen now. Otherwise, Australia risks losing the very edge that built its prosperity for generations.
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