Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

red tape and compliance costs out of the economy, as a central part of our Economic Action Strategy. There can be no contest about the need for this red-tape reduction task. You might remember, Madam Speaker, when the Labor government was initially elected, they promised one in, one out. That was the commitment. But after spectacularly failing to achieve that ambition, they thought they would change the goal posts. And then it was about a regulation count. When we reminded the previous government that they had implemented 21,000 new and amended regulations, they then said, 'We don't like that way of measuring the red-tape burden either.' But who could argue with The World Economic Forum's assessment? Who could forget that, after six years of Labor, the Australian economy is 128th in the world in terms of the burden of government regulation. There are only 127 other economies that have less gummed-up impact of government regulation than our own. This is why this red-tape reduction task is a whole-of-government obligation, where every minister is making a contribution and where every portfolio is making a contribution. Regulatory burdens land no more heavily than on small businesses. The small businesses of Fisher, as we travel around and talk with them, describe this overwhelming compliance obligation that takes them away from growing their business and nurturing opportunities in their electorate.

Mr Bowen interjecting—

See this speech in context