Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Dev says the English language requirements are punishing for multicultural employers. Today I say to Dev, 'We have heard you.' This government is reforming the 457 visa program by streamlining the processing of sponsorship, nomination and visa applications; reforming sponsorship requirements to reduce the time and cost to businesses; increasing the sponsorship approval period from 12 to 18 months for start-up businesses; and providing greater flexibility in relation to English-language testing and skill requirements. These measures are good for business, good for employers and good for the country, saving $29.9 million per year in compliance fees.

Tourism is an industry that Leichhardt strongly relies on and there are huge benefits, looking ahead. Firstly, we can expect more tourists now that visitors from half-a-dozen new countries can apply for their subclass 600 Visitor visas electronically. Visitors from the Philippines, Kenya, South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina can now go to the Australian immigration website and apply online. Secondly, we know that Chinese visitors are a major contributor to the tourism sector. In the last financial year Australia welcomed more than 700,000 visitors. We want to make it even easier for them to visit. We are giving Chinese business visitors access to a single visa that will allow them to visit Australia multiple times over a three-year period.

China is among eight countries to trial the SmartGate passport processing system along with eligible citizens of Ireland, Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Japan. This SmartGate passport system is already available to eligible travellers from Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA. It substantially reduces queue waiting times as travellers enter Australia to work or holiday and greatly enhances the 'welcome' experience.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland has praised the federal government's initiatives to cut red tape. CEO Alex de Waal said it will greatly enhance Australia's ability to attract tourists. He said it was wonderful to see the federal government proactively investing in tourism growth; however, he cautioned that still more needs to be done. Alex said that Australia's competitors are finding new ways to remove barriers and attract guests, so Australia needs to continue to innovate by aggressively tackling barriers to tourism growth in this country. I wholly support Alex's views here, and I can promise him that this government will not be resting on its laurels.

Finally, we have removed provisions in the Aged Care Act 1997 that forced providers to notify the Department of Social Services within 28 days of any changes to key employees. We have removed some certification requirements from the Building Code of Australia that relate to aged-care facilities. If the requirement is duplicated in state building regulations, there is no need for federal government oversight.

We have streamlined the forms for the Aged Care Approvals Round, reducing the size of application forms by half. One project this will assist in Leichhardt is the Mossman District Nursing Home. For 20 years, members of the Mossman District Nursing Home Inc. committee have been trying to build themselves a nursing home. They have been doing an outstanding job in their efforts. Over the years they have been successful, first of all, in having the local hospital converted into a multipurpose facility, which allowed them to get access to eight nursing home beds. They then went ahead and were able to successfully organise a plot of land, thanks to council support, and they have been seeking additional bed places through our annual Aged Care Approvals Round. Since 2011, the committee has been completing very comprehensive annual applications for these bed places. The applications are a massive endeavour and very time consuming, costing upwards of $30,000 in consultants' fees on each occasion. I am pleased to say that the committee formed a partnership with the Salvation Army Aged Care Plus, and this organisation has been able to drive the more recent ACAR applications. Nevertheless, as the president of the committee, Marj Norris, told me:

Anything the Government can do to reduce the burden of these applications for community, non-profit organisations is very welcome news.

After these 20 years of effort, in the last round Marj and her team, with the support of the Salvation Army Aged Care Plus, successfully attained another 42 places in the 2014 ACAR. Only a matter of weeks ago, the Douglas Shire Council agreed to transfer freehold on the land that they had reserved for this facility to the Salvation Army. So we are now looking to the next round to get about $6 million, with the Salvation Army putting in a similar amount, so that they can build a facility. After 20 years of effort, there is a real possibility of Mossman attaining their aged-care facility. I will certainly be supporting them in their efforts and I can tell you that there is not a more worthy community. For the years that they have been working on that project, I think they deserve all the credit they get and the success that they are able to achieve.

We know how frustrating it is to have to update personal information at a multitude of agencies—sitting on hold on the phone or queuing up to be served. The new myGov website takes advantage of the technology we have available today and links together Medicare, the tax office, Centrelink, Australian JobSearch, our eHealth records, Child Support, the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The extra features mean that every Australian can update their important details in one place. Cameron Murphy, a resident of Kewarra Beach, told my electorate officers how time consuming it is to have to go into a Medicare office to change his personal information. At a national level, this move reduces $5.4 million in annual compliance costs across the country.

In conclusion, today's $305 million cut in red tape builds on the $2.1 billion reduction as a result of decisions we have made since October last year. The previous government created around 21,000 new regulations, further clogging up the pores of our system. With the passing of this legislation, the coalition will have repealed more than 10,300 legislative instruments and 2,700 acts of parliament, relieving $2.45 billion of unnecessary expenditure for Aussie families, organisations and businesses. That red tape has been building up like a boil since Australia's government began in 1901. Now we are lancing that boil, getting rid of the pain and the pressure, and working to build a robust economy that will support growth and prosperity into the future. I certainly commend the bill to the House.

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