Economic Reform Roundtable - UNSW experts available for comment

UNSW Sydney

The Economic Reform Roundtable aims to build consensus on ways to improve productivity, enhance economic resilience and strengthen budget sustainability. The Roundtable will be led by the Treasurer and supported by other key ministers. It will focus on lifting living standards for Australians with a focus on 3 main themes:

Making our economy more productive.
Building resilience in the face of global uncertainty.
Strengthening the budget and making it more sustainable.

UNSW experts are available for comment.

UNSW Business School

Scientia Professor Richard Holden, School of Economics, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. Prof. Holden can speak to all themes being discussed at the roundtable. He can be reached at [email protected].
Professor Kevin Fox, School of Economics, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. Kevin can discuss Australia’s productivity performance at aggregate and industry levels, and policies for improving productivity performance. His work on decomposing productivity growth was featured in the Productivity Commission’s Annual Productivity Bulletin 2025, with the results also featuring in the issues paper Economic Reform Roundtable – Productivity (Chart 4). Prof. Fox can also provide perspectives on R&D policy, innovation, inflation, immigration, education and training, and trade policy. He can be reached at [email protected].
Dr Tanya Fiedler, Scientia Senior Lecturer, School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. Tanya is a Climate Accounting expert who translates climate science into financial and policy frameworks, including net-zero strategies and risk disclosures. She focuses on derisking physical climate risk to ensure economic and financial resilience. She can be reached at [email protected].
Professor Peter Swan, School of Banking & Finance, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. Prof. Swan can speak to all three themes being addressed at the forum. He can be reached at [email protected].
Professor Peter Sedlacek, School of Economics, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. Prof. Sedlacek can comment on questions regarding improving productivity, especially on aspects related to business dynamism. He can be reached at [email protected]

Associate Professor Mark Humphrey-Jenner, School of Banking & Finance, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. A/Prof. Humphery-Jenner says, “Economic sustainability and productivity must involve economic growth. This involves incentives. Tax hikes will not achieve economic sustainability as they will undermine productivity and trigger human and capital flight: both directly through departures and indirectly by deterring capital from arriving in, and funding, Australia. Australia’s high tax rates crunch productivity and growth, and in so doing, shrink the economic pie for everyone.” He can be reached at [email protected].

Associate Professor Ann Kayis-Kumar, School of Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. Ann's research is focused on improving the lives of people experiencing severe financial distress - with particular expertise on countering the weaponisation of the tax system by perpetrators of intimate partner financial abuse. Critically, intimate partner financial abuse affects 2.4 million Australians, and costs the economy $11B annually. She can be reached at [email protected].
Associate Professor Katja Hanewald, School of Risk and Actuarial Studies, UNSW Business School, is available for comment. A/Prof. Hanewald can speak to sustainable retirement system design, including the role of the Age Pension, superannuation, and housing wealth (including the Home Equity Access Scheme) in funding retirement and aged care. Her research focuses on public and private insurance strategies to support ageing populations while reducing long-term pressure on government budgets. She can be reached at [email protected].

UNSW Engineering

Professor Ian Gibson, Deputy Dean of UNSW Engineering, is available for comment. Prof. Gibson’s work involves generating new high-technology companies and industries from university research. He can be reached at [email protected].
Professor Maurice Pagnucco, Deputy Dean (Education) of the Faculty of Engineering, is available to comment with specific reference to engineering education and the demand for engineers in the Australian economy. He is also able to comment on artificial intelligence and its place in developing the economy. He can be reached at [email protected].
Dani Alexander, CEO of UNSW Energy Institute, is available for comment. She would be happy to speak on a wide range of topics, including: unlocking the productivity potential of our energy sector, including our future electricity grid, through innovation; improving our energy security and future economic prosperity through a thriving manufacturing sector powered by renewables; and the role of consumers in supporting lower-regret pathways to affordable clean energy. Dani is also the current Chair of the Energy Research Institutes Council for Australia and a Board Member of the Energy Efficiency Council. She can be reached at [email protected].
Scientia Professor Toby Walsh, School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW Engineering, is available for comment. Prof. Walsh can speak to AI’s likely impact on science, healthcare, education, productivity, future skills and employment. He can be reached at [email protected].
Professor Flora Salim, School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW Engineering, is available for comment. She can speak to AI, machine learning, foundation models and LLMs, to enhance productivity, resilience, and urban sustainability. She can be reached at [email protected].

UNSW Law & Justice

Professor Mimi Zou, School of Private & Commercial Law, UNSW Law & Justice, is available for comment. She can speak on private and commercial law issues, including regulation of AI and new technologies. She can be reached at [email protected].

UNSW Science

Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology, School of Materials Science & Engineering, UNSW, is available for comment. Prof. Sahajwalla can speak to improving productivity and enhancing economic resilience. She can be reached at [email protected].

UNSW Medicine & Health

Professor Patricia M. Davidson, Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellow and interim Co-Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems, UNSW Medicine & Health, and member of the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council, is available for comment on the health system’s role in national productivity and the importance of technology and workforce investment. She can be reached at [email protected].

Contact details:

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