Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2014) Bill 2014 and related bills. I, like most of my colleagues on this side, refuse to be lectured on deregulation by an opposition who, when in government, introduced more regulation. Remember one in, one out? The problem is that they suffer from relevance deprivation syndrome and have absolutely no understanding of holding costs or of business operational costs, because none of them have had skin in the game. They do not understand what it is like to actually put their money, their house and their lives on the line to employ fellow Australians and to provide business opportunities, because they have just suckled off the teat of the union movement. They have been delivered their income, day in and day out, without any hesitation. They can pull an entire workforce out on strike and not lose any money themselves, because they have no understanding and no responsibility. By reducing the amount of regulation red tape, we are delivering prosperity for this nation. They do not get it because they have never been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and worn it out.

What we want to do is create a business environment where the government is off the back of business and, in particular, small business. The major employers in this country are mum-and-dad operations who have the family house on the line—everything on the line—trying to create an opportunity and an environment to employ more people and provide prosperity for our nation. But the Labor opposition stand in their way. I have listened to the objections they have raised today, and their objections and their speeches broadly speak of no understanding of the business environment in which people have to compete and survive, because they have never been there.

Kevin Rudd stood up as the Prime Minister and said 'one in, one out'. The reality is that it was one out and thousands in. They do not understand the opportunities that they put in jeopardy as a nation. I say to members opposite: embrace the opportunity that lies before you. Join up to the cause and get rid of redundant regulations and legislation which are a burden upon the Australian people and a disincentive to business. I expect the members sitting opposite—and, of course, the leader of the Greens sitting over there—to never have had any exposure to the business environment, except in opposing everything they have done.

Today we have issues. There is a broad lack of confidence in the business environment driven by six years of a Labor government. Businesses need to be enthused and inspired to invest and create those jobs that many of us require. But what have Labor done? They will do everything they can to stand in the way of opportunity and enterprise. Why? Because they have had no exposure to or experience in the business environment. It is not their house on the line; it is always someone else's, and when it is someone else's you do not have that characteristic understanding of the exposure and the feeling in the hip pocket. Maybe more of them should have had a real job instead of going to school, to university and then to the union movement with no exposure to reality.

I will give you one example of getting rid of these regulations. Our position of having a one-stop shop for environmental processing will save hundreds of millions of dollars per annum for our national economy. There are so many examples of streamlining processes and getting government out of the way, and that is what is critically important. Labor's exposure to small business is explained today, when all they want to do is stand in the way.

I notice that the member for Brand or the Greens' leader in this House—one of them—is going to stand up and talk about how terrible this is for the environment. I have got to say to you: if you actually understood business, you would get out of the way and create the opportunities where people with money to invest can create jobs for our fellow Australians. You keep talking about fellow Australians, but you do not understand their basic, fundamental needs, and that is for jobs so they can create enterprise and support their families and fellow Australians with the taxes they pay. You live in a communist-socialist world where you do not understand the realities of life.

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