Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be representing the Attorney-General in this matter. I would like to thank members of this chamber for their contribution to the debate on the Legislative Instruments Amendment (Sunsetting Measures) Bill 2012, most especially for their support of small business in Australia. There are 2.75 million small businesses, representing a third of our economy and employing some five million Australian workers.

Regulation and other legislative instruments are a fundamental part of our legal framework. They communicate the rights and responsibilities of business owners, big and small, and of individuals in a number of significant industries. So it is important that regulations and other instruments are simple to access and easy to understand. Reducing the regulatory burden, as all speakers have agreed, makes it easier for small business to get on with what they do best—that is, producing and employing. This bill is a key part of the Gillard government's commitment to industry and small business. These are practical, considered measures towards reducing the red tape and regulation that have historically tended to increase in active industries under successive governments, which the member for Stirling quite rightly pointed out. That is why this government is taking action to reduce regulation in a coordinated way and in close cooperation with industry. Indeed, the member for Parramatta quite clearly set out the extent of the sunset measures, for instance, that have existed since 2003 and the need to streamline the process of reviews.

To this end the bill will amend the Legislative Instrument Act 2003 in pursuit of three key efficiencies which I would like to speak about. First, it simplifies the sunsetting dates of legislative instruments and reduces the number of instruments that sunset all at once, making it easier for small businesses to understand their regulatory responsibilities. Second, it allows a new type of thematic review and provides more time for consultation. This will improve the quality and the clarity of instruments and give businesses a central role in the regulation of their own sector. Third, it allows for obsolete instruments to be repealed when they have clearly served their purpose, ensuring that both businesses and individuals will have better access to the law. The government then will be in a position to repeal thousands of unnecessary regulations through this new streamlined repeal process.

It is another example of the government working with the community to create a clear, understandable and fair framework for doing business in Australia. I know, for instance, that the Minister for Small Business, the Hon. Brendan O'Connor MP, will welcome this legislation on behalf of the millions of small-business owners across Australia. They will now be able to spend more time on growing their businesses instead of wading through redundant or ambiguous regulatory systems. The measures in the bill, including reforms to the requirements for explanatory material, will also make it easier for small businesses to understand their regulatory responsibilities and have a bigger say in how regulations are drafted, a point I think the member for Higgins was trying to make.

The Minister for Finance and Deregulation, the Hon. Senator Penny Wong, has also worked hard to ensure this legislation forms one part of the government's regulatory reform agenda. This bill implements recommendations from the minister's review of pre-2008 subordinate legislation and is indeed consistent with the Productivity Commission's 2011 report Identifying and evaluating regulatory reforms. Reducing unnecessary red tape, all speakers and all members of this House would agree, will help Australian businesses be more productive, more efficient and more competitive. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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