CEO Anthony Miller on Westpac’s submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable

Anthony Miller
11:00am July 30 2025

A foreword from Westpac CEO Anthony Miller in the bank's submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable, below.

Westpac welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Economic Reform Roundtable, presenting a forward-looking submission aimed at boosting Australia’s productivity and resilience. CEO Anthony Miller highlights the urgency of reform, pointing to rising costs and pressures on households and businesses. The submission puts forward a series of recommendations and policy proposals designed to make Australia more productive, particularly addressing key challenges affecting the nation like housing, supporting regional Australia and Australia’s energy transition.

Below is the foreword from Miller, as included in the bank’s submission.

"Australia is a well-governed, well-regulated country that attracts capital and talent. This has long been the secret to our success – it has been our differentiator and has underpinned the “lucky country.” However, today the average business owner or family could be forgiven for thinking that our luck is running out. It’s never been harder to run a business, buy a home, or pay the power and grocery bills. 

That’s why, now more than ever, we need to respond to the economic challenges confronting us and remain competitive. The Australian Government is appropriately drawing a line in the sand, and we welcome this opportunity to contribute to the debate, to help find the ideas and practical solutions to grow national productivity. However, underpinning our goal to grow productivity is that we must make Australia a society that rewards everyone for their efforts. 

As Australia's oldest company and first bank, Westpac acknowledges its historical and unique role within the Australian economy and society. 

We don’t pretend to have all the answers. Success will require a pragmatic approach, acknowledging and operating within the realities of Australia's economic, industrial and social landscape. To achieve meaningful reform, we can be smarter, more efficient, clear on our purpose and more competitive. This will ensure we maintain our edge. 

Westpac's submission includes a range of policy proposals designed to make Australia more productive. I want to call out three areas which are also priorities for Westpac: housing, regional Australia and Australia’s energy transition. 

The cost of housing in many cities is making it harder for people to find a home near their workplace (or their families), increasing travel times and in some cases creating labour shortages. While two thirds of the population own, or are paying off their home, we acknowledge that large sections of the community being priced out of home ownership is neither fair nor good for the economy or our country. It’s not just about building more homes, it’s about building more homes at a price people can afford to pay. 

While our biggest cities struggle with population growth, regional Australia, which has always been central to the nation’s prosperity, is struggling to achieve the critical mass of population and growth to achieve equivalent levels of economic growth. Regional Australia presents untapped opportunity and this is a major priority for Westpac. Now is the time for governments to plan and grow the next generation of Australian cities to speed up economic growth in regional Australia. We are a large country, and success will require us to be very targeted in investment to build immediate momentum. This is difficult for elected governments to implement alone, and an example of where the private sector can contribute. 

Similar to some of the issues slowing down new housing supply, Australia’s energy transition is being delayed by too many layers of approval for new infrastructure across local, state and federal government. This complexity is slowing down the delivery of new infrastructure and in some cases undermining our ability to compete with other jurisdictions for investment. We can overcome these issues by giving the states clear targets for energy generation and the autonomy needed to achieve them. 

An often-cited solution to many of the challenges in our economy is improving "productivity”. But this is easier said than done and too often left as a government or policy challenge. It is incumbent upon the private sector and regulators to work with the Government, providing specific, actionable, and achievable proposals to drive productivity gains. That’s what this submission is about. Complaining about “red tape” is not sufficient. We see goodwill on all fronts, with regulators very much wanting to work with business to drive growth and productivity. 

This is an important opportunity to ensure Australia remains the lucky country. We are pleased to contribute.” 

You can download and read Westpac’s submission to the Economic Reform Roundtable in full, here (PDF 5MB).

Anthony Miller

Anthony is Westpac Group’s Chief Executive Officer, appointed in December 2024. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive, Business & Wealth since August 2023, following three years as Chief Executive, Westpac Institutional Bank. Before joining Westpac in October 2020, Anthony was CEO of Australia & New Zealand and Co-Head of Investment Bank, Asia Pacific at Deutsche Bank from 2017. Prior to Deutsche Bank, Anthony was a partner at Goldman Sachs, having joined the organisation in 2001.

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