Page 3137 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 15 September 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
There actually has to be a reason to come to Canberra to do business, and there actually has to be a reason to stay in Canberra as well. There have to be incentives, or at least the removal of disincentives by the Government, to come to Canberra. We know that a number of businesses have left Canberra of recent days. Why have they left Canberra? Because other State governments have offered them better deals. If they leave Canberra, we lose jobs. We do not lose only jobs, though; we lose the economic stimulation that these businesses bring, the taxes they pay, and the list goes on.
Across the border in Queanbeyan there are active and quite dramatic programs to encourage business development. There are programs such as the regional business development scheme, the business expansion scheme, and the list goes on. ACT business is involved with some of those programs, by the way, but many are not. There are even situations under which payroll tax is at least relaxed for a period for businesses that can prove that they really have a future and really have a capacity to be an integral part of the economy. As I said, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, if this Government were really serious about a partnership between the public sector and the private sector they would not be laughing at the comments I am now making.
A recent publication by the Institute of Chartered Accountants contains resolutions from a national small business member survey conducted in May and June this year. It showed the problem areas in business as those members saw them. This national survey showed that the most dramatic problems for small business were the cost of regulation and the shortage of equity capital. They were followed by overregulation by government and high taxes and imposts, for example, payroll tax. The list went on with things like the availability of debt finance. Labour laws and union regulations were high on the list as well. As you can see, Madam Speaker, there are a number of areas in which this Government can play a role, not only in the development of business, but also in the expansion of business.
As the survey indicated, two major problems experienced by small business are the cost of regulation and overregulation, the time taken to fill in the forms. I would suggest that this is particularly the case in Canberra. Madam Speaker, if the Government would accept the need for a review of only these two areas, I think they would be surprised at the positive impact that this would have on small business in Canberra. Our next-door neighbour, New South Wales, governed by a coalition government, is in the process of having a red tape review. The express purpose of this red tape review is to remove impediments on business. In fact, after the Greiner Government came to power in New South Wales 3,000 pages of regulations were removed from the books. Furthermore, in New South Wales, there is a mandatory five-yearly review of all regulatory requirements, and if regulations are not justified they lapse. Currently they are having a red tape review because they understand that this costs business money. This is the positive kind of government action we need in Canberra, not just words.
Canberra business is not asking for a handout. Canberra business requires the Government to have the courage and the foresight not only to introduce good legislation but also to remove inappropriate and inefficient laws, regulations and costs. This Government has the power to do that. You have the power to do it now, if you really wanted to do something. EPACT has brought down three
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .