Big business talked down to Aussies about the Voice, inclusion and the environment. Now a VERY ugly reality has finally dawned on them: they’ve been screwed, writes PETER VAN ONSELEN

This week, the business community finally erupted in anger over the impact of Labor on the national economy. They used the annual Business Council of Australia dinner to criticise the Prime Minister (their guest of honour) for his government’s industrial relations changes.

Both the CEO and the Chairman of the BCA have been clear in their criticism of how difficult the current climate is for Australian businesses. And they are right.

Topping the list of grievances is Labor’s new income tax laws.

The policy change Labor made to accommodate the union was not discussed at the last election, but would be on the agenda anyway if Anthony Albanese became prime minister.

Why? Because that’s what Labour governments always do. When they get elected, especially after long periods of coalition government, they ‘reform’ the industrial relations system.

“Reform” is a euphemism for rebalancing the situation in favor of the trade union movement and its workers.

The unions are Labor’s biggest source of political donations. No wonder Labor wants to promote union interests once in power.

It used to be the same, when the business community donated money to the Liberal Party, but that doesn’t happen as much anymore. The Liberal Party is increasingly moving towards populism, instead of staying ideologically connected to the business community, as it used to be.

While I agree with the business community’s concerns about the new revenue tax legislation, I find it hard to muster much sympathy for big business.

I say that because for years Australian businesses have been forgetting what really matters to them.

They’ve been too busy lecturing the rest of us on post-materialist issues like the environment, inclusivity and diversity and, in this term, The Voice.

Business leaders are not philosophical kings who can tell the rest of us what is virtuous and what is not.

They are certainly not the moral guardians of what is right and wrong, yet for some reason they feel entitled to talk down to the mainstream.

Not long ago, former Qantas boss Alan Joyce lectured Australians on how to vote in the referendum, even though the major parties were no longer in agreement over the Voice.

He became a partisan fighter, apart from the intellectual snobbery that accompanied the polemical campaign waged by Qantas.

Anthony Albanese, fiancée Jodie Haydon and Alan Joyce. Qantas vocally supported the Voice despite the lack of support from both parties

‘Yes23’ voting logos appeared on the side of some Jetstar and Qantas planes

Business leaders have even lectured the Liberal Party about the lack of female representation in its ranks. In itself it is a fair criticism… but most of these companies live in glass houses.

While they’ve been tutting at the Liberals about gender, the number of women on ASX boards has fallen, as has the number of female CEOs. Not to mention the lack of progress in addressing the gender pay gap in corporate Australia.

Speaking of corporate hypocrisy, there are still too many prominent business people telling us we need to do more to tackle climate change, when many of their companies are nothing more than a sham.

They are no better than celebrities who do the same.

The new Labor government feasted on all the virtuous remarks from business leaders when it was in opposition. Whenever attacks were aimed at the Morrison government, they shouted ‘me too!’.

Shortly after Labor took office, we all witnessed the conga line of business leaders attending the Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra. Complete with cheesy smiles for the cameras and handshakes to boot.

What happened next? After the showbiz moment for ugly people was over, Labor changed the IR system without notice or consultation. They left all those corporate clowns out in the cold.

It is hard, then, not to think that big business is now getting what it absolutely deserves, having humiliated itself in the farce that preceded what Labour governments always do.

I wonder if corporate Australia has the collective memory of a goldfish.

With economic conditions deteriorating, the party suddenly wants to punish Labour for its policies on political interests, and asks both major parties to tone down their populist rhetoric in favour of necessary economic reforms.

Corporations employ the most people in this country and pay the most taxes. Their success usually results in national prosperity. That is why Labor’s new IR laws, which jeopardize all that, are so shortsighted.

I agree with the point, but before Australian business can convince voters to join the call for a more favourable business climate, it must admit the mistakes of the recent past.

It must be admitted that for too long, corporate leaders have subordinated core issues to the agenda of the so-called woke movement.