Australia's political class must rekindle "leadership", ANZ's CEO, Mike Smith, told a business lunch in Melbourne yesterday."When I think back to the time I first lived in Australia, in the mid-1980s, I remember the reform consensus of the time and the elements that built it."Some related to common ground on the problem, some concerned the solutions."What they had in common, however, was leadership - political leadership, policy leadership, union leadership and, above all, business leadership that welcomed the pursuit of policies that would expose business to competition." "We saw a sustained wave of innovation which was directly in response to the deregulation in financial services whose outcome was major productivity improvements; a new level of competitiveness, and services for customers."New non-bank players emerged. New products were developed."Speaking at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle, Smith mentioned four rogue trends that needed tackling.These were: "Over-regulation; tax policies that inhibit flexibility; industry policy that rewards processes rather than creativity, [and] governance frameworks that inhibit well reasoned decision-making."Taking surf-wear brands as one example - and one financed in part by ANZ - Smith reminded his audience that "these innovating enterprises have emerged as our economy has deregulated and opened up."In the current environment, I'm not sure we fully appreciate it as a dividend of reform."