New dynamics, new realities: ASFA
Wednesday, 12 November 2008 1:10pm
Timor-Leste president and Nobel Peace laureate Dr Jose Ramos-Horta told delegates at the annual ASFA conference to prepare for the "new economic realities", where countries often overlooked in global policy-making such as Saudi Arabia, India and South Africa will take more prominence in the future.
Speaking through a video link, President Ramos-Horta used his welcome address to urge the country's investment professionals to use their influence to help shape the future global economy.
For example, he said there needs to be a re-think on the selection of G8 countries. The criteria should change so that countries including Saudia Arabia, the world's major source of oil, or India, the world's largest democratic country, should be included in the decision-making process alongside the US and Europe.
He also suggested that governments, including that of Australia, should collaborate to help third world countries become self-sufficient in food production. This is vital to developed countries particularly because they source a good portion of their labour force from these third world regions.
"Thirty or 50 years from now, majority of Australians will take their origins from countries other than the UK, Scotland and other European countries."
And these Australians are the changing demographic base that the retirement system will have to cater for in the future.
Joining Ramos-Horta as a keynote speaker on the first day of the ASFA conference held in New Zealand this year was James Strong, chair of Woolworth's Limited and Insurance Australia Group (IAG) Limited.
Drawing comparisons between the superannuation industry and the corporate world, Strong said a strong leadership is needed and more so today because superannuation has become hugely instrumental in government policy decisions.
And just as listed companies have to front up to their individual shareholders, in good or bad times, superannuation funds also have a role of facing up to their individual fund members, particularly when returns are negative.
"You've got to be prepared to listen and cop things…that's all part of the process," he said, adding that often, all [members] want is for the organisation to listen to them and let them have a say.
Michelle Baltazar
This story was found at: http://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/view/24496
Printed: Saturday, 13 March 2010 7:52am