As Malcolm Turnbull's corporate tax cuts bit the dust in the Senate, the prime minister was seeking wise counsel from Australia's oldest checkout chick.
His government has given up on passing corporate tax cuts this week but will make a fresh attempt in the May Budget week.
The coalition is two votes away from securing passage of its bill to reduce the corporate tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent across all-sized businesses.
Mr Turnbull rallied business leaders to continue to fight the good fight on Tuesday evening.
"We're not giving up," Mr Turnbull told a Business Council forum at Parliament House.
"We're determined to get this passed."
He encouraged the chief executives to talk to the crossbenchers.
"We are the party of aspiration on our side so I would encourage you to talk to the opposition and the Greens but it might be a slog for you.
"You're not afraid of a challenge."
Mr Turnbull was joined on stage by a panel of three workers including Brenda Palmer who has worked at Coles for 51 years.
She often provides cooking advice to her customers and Mr Turnbull was interested to know how that had changed over the years.
"I've noticed they read the labels more carefully these days," she said.
"I remember when jam only came in tins and the bread was wrapped in wax paper, which wouldn't be a bad idea if they went back to the wax paper."
Mr Turnbull replied: "that's some very good advice."
The Business Council used its annual forum in Canberra on Tuesday evening to launch a campaign to remind Australians that business generates jobs and how big and small firms rely on each other to be successful.
It says the business community has become an easy target for a wave of populist attacks but there is limited appreciation of the positive contribution of business to the nation and people's lives.
"We cannot sit back and allow Australians to only see the negatives and forget about our workers," it says.
The Australia at Work campaign centres on two television commercials focusing on how 86 per cent of jobs today are generated by business and how big and small business work together - like a small business owner supplying snacks to a major airline.
