Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for your protection, Mr Deputy Speaker, from that unruly and disorderly mob. Perhaps they would like to get rid of the rules in this place as well. Perhaps they think there is a heap of regulation that we do not need in this place—and I would support them. But I can certainly defend myself.

In government, we implemented the Seamless National Economy agenda to reduce costs for business, to reduce compliance and to reduce the unnecessary and inconsistent regulation across jurisdictions. This is the hard lifting and the hard yakka that takes years, not some stunt where you grab a regulation from 1954 or some other outdated piece of law that has not been used for 50 years that just sits there, that barely anyone knows exists, and burn it and say that you have done your job as a government. They should do something a little more real.

The members on the other side think they are so clever. This is what they have come up with: let's burn a whole heap of regulations, including the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 and the amendment about the minimum size of the star on the Australian flag. I do not know how much money small business is going to save by these guys burning the amendment to the Flags Act. This is going to save people a fortune! I can see them now: small business ramming down the parliamentary secretary's front door—he shakes his head. But there are thousands of examples like that. You are getting rid of stuff that no-one even knows exists or has zero impact—monetary, economic, ethical—

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