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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 4 Hansard (17 April) . . Page.. 1019 ..

MR DE (continuing):

The acceptance of the recommendations contained in the report of the Red Tape Task Force will enable this Government and governments in the future to put in place an appropriate program of action to combat red tape problems in the ACT. The task force considered it essential, and the Government has agreed, to formally identify a Minister within Cabinet as holding responsibility for regulatory reform. It is no surprise. Mr Wood, it will not be a fifth Minister. The task force believed that the appointment of a Minister would send a strong message to both the public sector and the private sector that the Government places regulatory reform as a high priority on its agenda and that it recognises that a leadership role is required from within the Government. The Chief Minister has agreed that I take on this role. In this capacity, I will report to the Legislative Assembly in a year's time on the progress of the implementation of the Red Tape Task Force report.

Work is proceeding with regard to the implementation of the recommendations. A very senior officer has been appointed as a project officer - actually, he has been reappointed, so there is no new appointment involved - to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the key recommendations. He is working closely with staff of the business regulation review unit, which is already in existence within the Department of Business, the Arts, Sport and Tourism. Consistent with one of the recommendations of the task force, the Attorney-General's Department has already moved to gain business input in relation to business law, and it recently advertised for nominations to join the working party. The setting up of this working party will further enhance the material that the Attorney-General's Department presently makes available electronically to the private sector. Also, we have already consulted the business community with regard to the drafting of new guidelines for regulatory needs analyses and business impact assessments, as proposed by the task force.

In conclusion, I reiterate that the ACT is well placed to achieve a regulatory system that is more efficient than that of any other State or Territory and one that can provide the most favourable environment to foster economic growth and community well-being. 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.

Mr Speaker, I note that the new Federal Government is proposing to set up a similar task force to review the impact on business of government regulation. I would expect the outcomes of this review to be complementary to the initiatives that we are already taking in the ACT. With that in mind, I was delighted to hear that Mr Prosser, the Minister concerned federally, was quite happy to take on board some of the recommendations of the Red Tape Task Force in order once again to avoid red tape by duplicating the work already done by this committee. Unless the ACT provides an attractive regulatory environment in comparison to those of the other States and the Northern Territory, there is a real likelihood that business investment will be attracted elsewhere.

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