Productivity Sounds Great — Until You Hit The Red Tape

Productivity has become a bit of a buzzword lately — rolled out in political speeches, budget pressers and corporate strategy days like it’s the magic fix for everything. Apparently, if we can just lift productivity, we can grow the economy, raise wages, and fix a whole lot of things. Easy, right?

But when a politician says they’re going to “increase productivity,” what do they actually mean? (Is it just me that imagines a government official standing behind me with a stopwatch?)

At its simplest, productivity is a measure of how efficiently we turn inputs (like time, labour and materials) into outputs (like goods and services). If you produce more for the same amount of effort — that’s productive. If you produce the same amount using less effort — that’s productive too.

In theory, it’s how we build prosperity: higher productivity means higher wages, better services, more time off, and a stronger standard of living for everyone.

In fact, there’s a whole Productivity Commission dedicated to the topic. They’ll tell you that the average Aussie worker can now produce in one hour what used to take a full day in 1901 — thanks to improvements in technology, skills, and systems. That uplift is what’s allowed incomes to rise, working hours to fall, and everyday goods to become affordable.

All of that makes sense on paper. But productivity isn’t just a tidy formula. It’s also deeply human. Recently, productivity hit the headlines when flexible work arrangements came under fire. Some commentators suggested we needed to get “back to the office” to lift output. But for many workers — flexibility isn’t a luxury. It’s what keeps them in the workforce.

I’m lucky enough to work in a flexible role, and I’m certain it makes me more productive, not less. It gives me the space to do my job well — and still be present for my family and community. That’s not a drag on productivity. That’s how it happens.

Of course, flexibility is just one part of the picture. When governments talk about boosting productivity, they’re often referring to broader reforms: investment in infrastructure, innovation, reducing red tape, improving skills and workforce participation. Many of these things are already in motion.

But plans and policy frameworks can sometimes feel a long way from places like Mackay. Here in the regions, we know productivity isn’t just about how hard someone works. It’s about the environment they’re working in. Whether they have fast internet, reliable roads, access to staff, and supply chains that deliver on time.

And speaking of buzzwords — if we were playing economic bingo, “red tape reduction” would be right up there with productivity.

We want to talk to local businesses about what slows them down, because it’s rarely a lack of effort. It’s red tape: duplicative reporting, long approval delays, hard-to-access forms, clunky systems that don’t talk to each other. Red tape doesn’t just waste time — it drains momentum, frustrates people, and chips away at small business confidence.

So, if you’re running a business in the Mackay region and facing red tape that’s making life harder than it needs to be — tell us! Big or small, local, state or federal — we want to know.

Because productivity isn’t just about working harder. It’s about working smarter.

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