14/09/2026
Ellie Sweeney, CEO of NBN & Liz Ritchie, CEO of Regional Australia Institute presented leading up to a Fireside Chat on the ‘Enablers of Regional Productivity’ that saw us out to lunch. The Fireside Chat was between Marnie Baker, Board Director of the Regional Australia Institute & Sarah Hunter, Chief Economist & Assistant Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia.
The state of the Australian economy was of course, the central issue. The overlay and interacting features at play - like artificial intelligence, data centres, interest rate settings and other matters were fair game.
A key takeaway was a surprisingly simple reflection on why productivity matters:
🍞 In 1901, an Australian worker had to work an average of 16 minutes to buy a loaf of bread. In 2026, the average worker needs to work 4 minutes to buy that loaf.
So, productivity overall has improved.
But lest we forget the fact that wages of most of our peoples were largely stolen for around 2 centuries until the latter part of the 20th century. And the productivity of those people - who were stolen and removed to missions and reserves, who were sent out into domestic and agricultural servitude for little to no payment - contributed to the fortunes of those that did the dispossessing.
Facts like this remain missing in Australia’s productivity narrative.
Our job is to repatriate the fact of First Nations’ economic power, each community’s unique offer to prosperity to date and our future prosperity as a nation, into the national debate.
Underpinned by culturally appropriate, sustainable and climate ready housing, we look to a future where the true and untold story of our First People’s productivity that stretches back 65.000 years is told and celebrated as foundational planks of our ever-brighter future.
