The State of Victoria: The Imperative for Action was the first public event of the IPA’s Economic Prosperity Initiative, a multiyear effort led by IPA Chief Economist, Adam Creighton, to put value creation, free enterprise, and economic growth back at the heart of Australia’s governance.
It was a one day ‘summit’ held in Melbourne on Wednesday 19 August 2026, and each event was recorded by the IPA’s expert team of videographers.
On this page you will find the program, a collation of the Powerpoint slides used by presenters, and links to each of the presentations.
Victorians are approaching a critical election, just as our second-largest state economy is facing a series of unprecedented financial and governance challenges.
At the event IPA researchers were joined by prominent experts to take stock of the current crisis and its key drivers, and consider how an incoming government might start to revive Victoria’s fortunes.
The MC for the event was Chris Uhlmann, journalist, broadcaster, public speaker, and documentary maker.
Speakers include:
The Hon Peter Costello AC, Australia’s longest-serving Treasurer and former Chairman of the Future Fund
Judith Sloan, Contributing Economics Editor at The Australian and former Commissioner at the Productivity and Fair Pay Commissions
John Lloyd PSM, inaugural Australian Building and Construction Commissioner and former Australian Public Service Commissioner
Stephen Anthony, Director of Macroeconomics Advisory and former Chief Economist at Industry Super Australia
Adam Creighton, Senior Fellow and Chief Economist at the Institute of Public Affairs
Toby Johnston, Director of Westwood Strategic Advisers and former Chief Economist of the Future Fund
Rob Burgess, Urban Economist and Founder of Quantify Strategic Insights
Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director at the Institute of Public Affairs
Dr Kevin You, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs
Stephen Wilson, Visiting Fellow in Energy Security at the Institute of Public Affairs and Adjunct Professor in Mechanical and Mining Engineering at the University of Queensland
The program, which can be downloaded here or by clicking the button below, included Keynote addresses by Peter Costello and Judith, and covered the following topics.
The collated Powerpoint slides, including of speech by Scott Hargreaves and Peter Costello, can be found here or by clicking the button below.
For further information on how you can support the Economic Prosperity Initiative, contact Amy Sullivan, Director of Development, here.
