Trump and “friend” Albanese seal a major $13 billion deal into Australian minerals. And confirmation that AUKUS is “full steam ahead”.
Welcome to Talking Business, a podcast produced in Melbourne Australia. The podcast is available on the Acast site, my own website, the Apple Podcast store or wherever you go to get your podcasts. Or you can get it at the Business Acumen website at www.businessacumen.biz
I am Leon Gettler. My job is to review and monitor the week’s news in business, finance and economics. I bring it all to you, every week.
For the most exclusive access to leading economists and business leaders from around the world, subscribe to Talking Business from my website leongettler.com or whatever your favourite podcast platform is.
This is episode number 37 in our series for 2025 and today’s date is Friday October 24.
First, I’ll be talking to Neil Druce, the founder of Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory. We’ll be talking about how his business was the first to make organic licorice in the southern hemisphere, why his firm’s organic chocolate is healthier than other chocolates around and the importance of agrotourism for his business.
And I’ll be talking to AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver about whether we can expect a Melbourne Cup rate cut, about the impact of Trump’s tariffs on the global economy and the economic impact of the US shutdown.
But first, let’s talking to Neil Druce.
So what’s happening in the news?
Alright, let’s dive into what’s making headlines in politics, business, and the economy — and trust me, there’s plenty to unpack this week. We’ll start in Washington D.C., where a rather unexpected pairing — Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Donald Trump — came together for what’s being called a game-changing minerals deal. Yep, you heard that right. Trump, sitting next to a beaming Albanese in the White House cabinet room, announced an $8.5 billion US-Australia investment push into critical minerals. That’s about $13 billion in Aussie dollars. Under the deal, Australia and the US will pump $US1 billion ($1.54 billion) each into Australian and US projects over the next six months, including $US200 million to a West Australian gallium plant owned by Alcoa and $US100 million to the Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura Nolans rare earths mine. The deal, which includes offering guaranteed price floors for new producers and blocking asset sales on security grounds, has the potential to anger Beijing. China processes up to 90% of the world’s rare earths and dominates refining of lithium, graphite and gallium, giving it extraordinary pricing power across key inputs in everything from smartphones to fighter jets. Former head of the Australia-China Business Council Warwick Smith said Australia has now found itself “dancing between two elephants. The signing of the US-Australia alliance on critical minerals comes just over a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to meet Donald Trump on the sidelines of the APEC leaders summit in South Korea, which Albanese will also attend. The goal for this latest deal? Shake up China’s dominance in the minerals space — you know, the stuff that powers everything from your iPhone to electric vehicles and fighter jets. Trump, in classic Trump fashion, even cracked a line to reporters: “In about a year from now, we’ll have so much critical minerals and rare earths that you won’t know what to do with them. They’ll be worth about two dollars.” Bold, vague, and a little bit Trumpy — as always. Now, the deal isn’t just cash. There’s a formal framework between the two countries — a kind of minerals pact — where both sides are pledging to support new producers by offering price guarantees, and they’re even willing to block foreign buyers on national security grounds. Translation: “Sorry, Beijing, you’re not getting a piece of this.” As part of the first wave of funding, the US and Australia will each invest $1 billion over the next six months. For Albanese, this meeting — the first formal one with Trump — was about more than minerals. He called it a new chapter in the relationship, saying the two countries are “seizing the opportunities before us.” Trump, for his part, didn’t mention AUKUS much, but did say it was “full steam ahead.” So, that’s something.
Meanwhile, back on home soil, there’s corporate drama brewing at Santos. Sherry Duhe — once seen as the heir apparent to CEO Kevin Gallagher — is out. And not in the usual “off to pursue other interests” kind of way. According to internal messages she sent to colleagues, Duhe says she was dismissed just days after raising concerns about Gallagher’s leadership style. Here’s the timeline: She meets with Gallagher on October 7 to say, “Look, I think I need to step down. Our leadership styles don’t mesh.” Gallagher and the head of HR ask her to reconsider. She does, and sends a letter laying out what needs to change. Three days later — silence. Then on October 12, the chairman of the board, Keith Spence, calls her and says, essentially, “Thanks but no thanks. Your services are no longer needed.” And boom — that was it. This comes after a string of high-level exits from Santos, including their former COO and strategy head. So while Gallagher says he wants to stick around until 2027, the revolving door suggests not everyone’s on board with that plan.
Let’s talk Bapcor now — the Aussie car parts retailer that owns brands like Autobarn, Burson, and Midas. They’re in damage control mode after uncovering a $12 million mess in their trade division. We’re talking accounting errors, operational screw-ups, and two execs who’ve been shown the door. Their half-year profit outlook? Slashed by 32%. Investors were expecting up to $18 million — now the forecast is as low as $3 million. Yikes. CEO Angus McKay — who was brought in after a failed takeover attempt by Bain Capital — told investors, “We weren’t expecting this. A modest issue turned into a major one.” That’s… not exactly confidence-inspiring. Bapcor’s share price plummeted 17% on the news and now sits at $2.60 — less than half of what Bain was offering back in 2024. So if you’re a shareholder, that one stings.
Alright — just when you thought corporate strategy couldn’t get more creative — or controversial — let’s talk about Healthscope.Now, Healthscope is Australia’s second-largest private hospital network, but right now, it’s also in receivership — drowning under a reported $1.6 billion in debt. Despite that, its 37 hospitals are still running, while administrators scramble to find a buyer for part or all of the business. But here’s where it gets wild: Healthscope is trying to become a charity. Yep — a private, for-profit healthcare giant is now moving to rebrand itself as a not-for-profit. The goal? To access tax benefits and stay afloat. And if that wasn’t eyebrow-raising enough, they’re also asking 15,000 eligible staff to help out by tapping into a tax break — then handing up to 90% of that benefit back to the company. Let’s break that down. There’s this longstanding tax perk available to workers in not-for-profit hospitals. It lets them salary package up to $11,660 a year, reducing their taxable income. Normally, it’s a recruitment and retention tool — staff keep that tax break as a little boost in their pay. But under Healthscope’s proposal? Workers could be giving the company nearly all of that benefit to help pay down its debt. Health Services Union leader Kate Marshall didn’t hold back. She called it “literally taking money out of workers’ pockets to pay their billions of dollars’ worth of debt.” And honestly, it’s hard to argue with that framing.Here’s how the numbers stack up:
- If 70% of staff take the deal, Healthscope keeps 90% of the benefit.
- If 90% of staff jump in, the company’s cut drops to 60%.
- Either way, taxpayers could be out tens of millions, while workers only see a fraction of what’s meant to be theirs.
CEO Tino La Spina, though, is selling it as a lifeline. In an email to staff, he called it an “exciting development”, saying that the move to charity status — now approved by the regulator — gives them “huge confidence” to continue as a “For Purpose” organisation. There’s even a new name floating around: PurposeCo. So yeah, the rebrand is on. The charity conversion is real. And the salary-packaging plan? Highly controversial. Whether this strategy actually works — or just burns goodwill with staff and the public — is going to be one to watch. But one thing’s clear: this is one of the most unorthodox plays we’ve seen from a major private company in crisis.
Zooming out a bit now — the big picture isn’t looking too rosy for construction, healthcare, or mid-tier retail, either. Insolvency experts are warning that company collapses are likely to remain at record highs into the next financial year. According to restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal, it’s mainly the smaller businesses still feeling the pinch — and it’s sectors like construction and private healthcare that are wearing it hardest. Here’s what partner Jason Tracy had to say: “We’re seeing the unwinding of what you might call the COVID hangover.” In other words, businesses that got a temporary lifeline during the pandemic are now running out of road. In construction, it’s those brutal fixed-price contracts doing the damage — where the builder carries all the risk, and none of the reward when costs blow out. Healthcare? Same story. Private hospitals are battling rising costs, tight margins, and outdated funding models. And in retail, the mid-market is being squeezed — you’re either at the luxury end or the bargain basement, or you’re in trouble. To top it all off, the tax office is stepping up debt collection. Businesses that skipped super or GST payments are now on notice. According to the ATO, there’s around $50 billion in unpaid tax floating around — and they want it back.
You also know what’s interesting? Australia’s biggest law firm — MinterEllison — and some major players like Grant Thornton are flipping the traditional corporate hierarchy on its head… all thanks to AI. But it’s not the senior execs leading the charge. It’s Gen Z. Yep — the youngest people in the room are becoming the internal AI consultants. New research from Microsoft is showing that these early-in-career professionals aren’t just using AI… they’re shaping how their entire organisations use it. They’re the ones bringing in new tools, tweaking workflows, sharing prompt hacks — and honestly, completely reshaping how their teams operate.Sarah Carney, the CTO of Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, put it pretty bluntly. She said: “This isn’t a technological change, it’s a cultural change.” And that shift is huge. For firms like MinterEllison, it’s not just about efficiency — it’s about unlocking innovation from the bottom up. These younger employees are being asked for their opinions. And not just politely heard… those ideas are actually being implemented. And the numbers back it up. Microsoft’s report — cleverly titled “Ctrl + Career: How Gen Z are Redefining Success at Work with AI” — found that 78% of Gen Z workers have introduced a new AI tool, shortcut, or prompt trick to their team… and their colleagues actually ran with it. Even more impressive? About 6 in 10 have taken it a step further — building or customising their own AI agents or automated workflows to streamline the stuff they used to do manually. That’s what Microsoft is calling the rise of the “agent boss” era — and it’s giving these employees a seat at the table, earlier than ever. Take Jett Potter for example — he’s a Gen Z consultant at MinterEllison, and part of their AI Advisory team. For him, AI has been a career accelerator. He’s no longer stuck doing admin — now, he’s in strategy meetings with partners and directors, building AI agents and even designing training courses for clients. He recently built a short AI training program, grouping common client questions into modules, pairing them with step-by-step prompts. That kind of initiative isn’t just noticed — it’s valued. And it’s not just law firms seeing this shift. Over at Grant Thornton, Nicole Bradley, who heads up their private business tax and advisory team, said she’s genuinely excited by what she’s seeing from new grads. She made a great point — with up to four generations working side-by-side now, staying curious and open to learning — especially about AI — is more crucial than ever. And that brings us to something that really stuck with me — Sarah Carney’s suggestion: “If I was a manager, weekly show-and-tell is the thing I’d be implementing. So you can hear voices from across the organisation.” How simple is that? Just carving out space for people — especially younger team members — to share what they’re doing with AI. That’s how innovation spreads. That’s how companies move beyond AI “paralysis” — the pilot programs and endless testing — and start actually using this stuff. Because at the end of the day, AI transformation isn’t just about having the best tech. It’s about having a culture where people feel empowered to experiment, share, and build on each other’s ideas. And right now, Gen Z?
They’re leading that charge.
And just when you thought politics couldn’t get any weirder… The Nationals look set to walk away from their commitment to net zero emissions — in what some are calling a last-ditch effort to keep Barnaby Joyce from jumping ship to One Nation. Yes, that’s real. Joyce says he won’t be part of any party room that backs net zero. And insiders say he’s been talking to Pauline Hanson about running for the Senate under the One Nation banner — possibly even replacing her down the line. Pauline, by the way, is loving this. She’s publicly invited Joyce, and even a few other Coalition MPs like Jacinta Price and Matt Canavan, to join her. One Nation support is now sitting at 14% — more than double what it was at the last election. It’s being driven by disaffected voters, mostly older and regional, who feel alienated by the major parties on issues like climate and immigration. So what happens next? Well, the Coalition is reviewing its climate policy, but the Nationals are fast-tracking their own review — and are widely expected to ditch net zero altogether before Christmas. That’s sure to stir up some serious tensions in the Coalition camp.
That’s the wrap for this week. From billion-dollar minerals deals to boardroom blow-ups and political plot twists, it’s been a wild ride — and we’re only in October. If you liked today’s breakdown, make sure to hit follow and share the podcast with someone who needs a catch-up on what’s really going on in Australia and beyond.
And next week, I’ll be talking to Dino Beverakis, who was managing director for Avaya. We’ll discuss the future of hybrid work, how organisations can stay compliant and how we can support employee wellbeing in the modern workplace.
And I’ll be talking to Indeed economist Callam Pickering about the uptick in Australia’s unemployment.
For the most exclusive access to leading economists and business leaders from around the world, subscribe to Talking Business from my website leongettler.com or whatever your favourite podcast platform is.
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Looking forward to the next episode of Talking Business next week.
