Page 5821 - Week 15 - Thursday, 10 December 2009
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(3) What opportunities has the Government identified to reduce this cost.
Ms Gallagher: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) Since October 2008:
(a) (Removed) 14 principal regulations have been repealed; and
(b) (Implemented) 18 principal regulations and 44 amending regulations have been made.
(2) The ACT Government understands the importance of reducing unnecessary regulatory burden on business and the community. In this regard the ACT supports the Productivity Commission’s (PC’s) annual assessments of the cost of regulation to business in the ACT and across Australia.
The ACT has worked, through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), to adopt a common framework for benchmarking, measuring and reporting the regulatory burden on business to provide a better comparison across jurisdictions.
In addition to the PC’s assessments, the ACT Government has in place a rigorous process to assess the regulatory impact to business and the general community, prior to the introducing any new policy initiatives. The PC’s work informs the ACT government of any areas requiring special focus.
Currently, the Legislation Act (2001) requires a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) to be prepared and tabled for any proposed subordinate law or disallowable instrument that is likely to impose an appreciable cost on the community or part of the community. The RIS process is a tool which outlines the regulatory options available, and identifies which option has the least regulatory burden to the community.
(3) The ACT has been actively participating in national and inter-jurisdictional microeconomic reform through the COAG to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden on business and the community as a whole. An example of the ACT’s current involvement is the Seamless National Economy Partnership Agreement, which aims to reduce red tape in 27 identified priority areas and 8 competition areas.
In addition to the reforms under COAG, the ACT Government is currently undertaking a review of the ACT Taxi Industry by assessing and removing any unnecessary regulatory burdens while also increasing the level of service to the community.
The Government’s active role to reduce regulatory burden is also shown in the Workers’ Compensation Amendment Bill 2009 which was recently presented to the Legislative Assembly and is estimated to save ACT employers over $4 million annually.
Business—liquor licences
(Question No 451)
Mr Seselja asked the Attorney-General, upon notice, on 19 November 2009:
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