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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 1 Hansard (21 February) . . Page.. 132 ..

MR DE (continuing):

government on, regulatory processes where red tape appeared to impose unnecessary cost or disadvantage on the Canberra business sector. The task force was chaired by Elizabeth Whitelaw of solicitors Deacons Graham and James and comprised representatives from both the public and private sectors.

The task force went to considerable effort to ensure that the business community was made aware of its review and its terms of reference, and the task force consulted widely with business representatives and with other relevant agencies and individuals. In addition to placing advertisements in the Canberra Times and other local papers, the task force wrote to government agencies, business associations and professional organisations seeking submissions and widely distributed amongst the community a leaflet outlining details about the background to the review, its scope and its terms of reference.

The task force held discussions with the heads of relevant government agencies and representatives from peak organisations and, through a consultant, undertook extensive consultations within a number of industries and interviews with individual businesses. The task force also met with two members of this Assembly, Ms Tucker and Mr Moore, to hear their views on regulatory issues related to the review. The task force received 32 submissions. Listings of the organisations interviewed by the task force's consultant, persons and organisations who met with the task force and submissions received by the task force form attachments to the task force report and clearly demonstrate the extensive nature of the consultations undertaken by the task force in arriving at its conclusions.

Before detailing those conclusions I would like to draw the Assembly's attention to the introduction to the report, which states that, with only two tiers of government - the Commonwealth and this Legislative Assembly - the ACT is well placed to achieve a regulatory system that is more efficient than that of any other State and one that can provide the most favourable environment to foster economic growth and community wellbeing. Mr Speaker, these words ring true and provide a challenge to the Government and to the Assembly to take advantage of the opportunities that the ACT's unique position offers.

Given the regulatory reform initiatives being implemented by other States, there is an urgent need for the ACT to address regulatory problems and to put in place comprehensive processes to ensure that the ACT can establish and maintain an efficient regulatory infrastructure. Unless the ACT provides an attractive regulatory environment in comparison to the other States, there is a real likelihood that business investment will be attracted elsewhere.

In its report the task force has observed that most government legislation does have an impact on business, although this is not always immediately evident, and that many areas of business activity are subject to what appears to be unnecessary red tape. As well as identifying specific instances and areas of concern, the report identifies a number of generic problem areas, including unnecessary delays, lack of integration between government agencies, and uncertainty about requirements.

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