Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise to speak on the Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2015) Bill 2015. This is an important bill which will have a significant impact on reducing red tape across a range of portfolio areas. In the time available to me I would like to highlight firstly that unnecessary red tape is a serious problem facing our nation and our economy. Secondly, I would like to emphasise the determination of the Turnbull government to reduce red tape. Thirdly, I want to speak about the work being done in the communications portfolio to reduce red tape.

Let me start with the first proposition that we have a serious problem with red tape in our economy. If you compare Australia's performance against other nations in the world, in 2014 we ranked 124th out of 148 countries for the burden of government regulation in the world competitiveness index. The simple fact is that the cost of doing business in Australia relative to other nations is too high. For example, the Productivity Commission estimates that regulatory compliance costs could amount to as much as four per cent of Australia's GDP. That is a staggering number.

Let me pause to acknowledge the outstanding work done when the coalition was in opposition by our red tape reduction task force, chaired by Senator Arthur Sinodinos, with deputy chairs, the member for Higgins and Senator David Bushby. In particular, I would like to quote from something that Senator Sinodinos said in a speech in 2012:

Unnecessary red tape is a contributing factor to Australia’s productivity challenge. The Productivity Commission estimates that reducing red tape will boost national GDP by $12 billion a year. Across industry, it’s believed red tape accounts on average for four per cent of business costs.

One of the defining characteristics of the problem we face with red tape is the fact that red tape tends inexorably to grow. If government does not take decisive action it is an unfortunate reality that red tape is ever expanding. Reporting obligations which are in place, which often have been put there for all of the best reasons, tend to grow and grow and grow. That is why it is necessary for government to take conscious and deliberate action, pushing in the other direction with a view to reducing red tape. That is why we came to government with a commitment to have two repeal days a year. On those days we have a systematic and continuing focus on the growth of regulation and whether there are opportunities to remove regulation which has outlived its usefulness or where the costs exceed the benefits. And while we target our specific legislative efforts around those days to which we have committed, we have a broader, ongoing focus throughout the year on areas where we can reduce regulation.

A specific factor which this government has inherited is the fact that we succeeded the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government, the government which showed an extraordinary enthusiasm for adding to the regulatory burden which lay upon the Australian economy. The Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government added over 21,000 new regulations and repealed 105, notwithstanding the promise made by former Prime Minister Rudd in 2007 that his government would have a one-regulation-in, one-regulation-out policy. I confirm that that was Mr Rudd in his first incarnation. We might call him 'Rudd the first' in that scenario. But the promise of 'Rudd the first' was never honoured, and in the brief—

Mr Champion interjecting—

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