Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It has been fascinating listening tonight to the debate on the Treasury Legislation Amendment (Repeal Day) Bill. Of course I agree that any government needs to constantly be reviewing excess legislation. I think what we have got on the other side is a whole bunch of self-hating legislators. They have come in here tonight and one after one absolutely sledged the whole concept of legislation and providing a framework. If their analysis that the smaller the regulation that you have the more vibrant and active an economy you would have was correct, then certainly we would be seeing Gabon, we would be seeing the Dominican Republic and we would be seeing all of those countries that do not have sophisticated administrative and legal structures being the ones that were up there really kicking the economic goals, but we know that that is not the case. I urge the members opposite to become a bit more intellectually sophisticated and to understand that the creation of a legal and administrative framework is absolutely essential for the success of business. Just look at those countries and look at what has led to the successful formation of business in the Western tradition. Just look at what was necessary in terms of legislative regimes to allow the whole concept of the notion of a nonhuman person, a corporation, to emerge. I think there has been a very primitive understanding of our economic system on show here tonight, and I think that is very disappointing.

Debate interrupted.

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