Page 750 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 17 March 2015
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ACT Disability Inclusion Statement—Development—Ministerial statement, 17 March 2015.
I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Business—red tape reduction
Discussion of matter of public importance
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Lawder): Madam Speaker has received letters from Dr Bourke, Ms Fitzharris, Mr Hanson, Ms Porter, Mr Smyth and Mr Wall proposing that a matter of public importance be submitted to the Assembly for discussion. In accordance with standing order 79, Madam Speaker has determined that the matter proposed by Dr Bourke be submitted to the Assembly, namely:
The importance of having a one stop regulatory approvals process in the ACT.
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra) (4.21): The ACT government is committed to supporting sustained growth and development of the ACT economy. Canberra continues to be one of the most small-business-friendly cities in Australia. We are doing all we can to stimulate our economy, to build confidence and to seek new investment in the ACT.
In the past, some governments have been particularly good at making businesses, community organisations and individuals jump through hoops to obtain the necessary approvals that will allow them to operate and undertake certain activities. This government understands the case for change, and it acts. We have been listening to our small business community and we are responding.
Often there is duplication of information that businesses are required to provide, such as having to provide names and addresses to multiple government arms for different approvals. One approach to minimise duplication is reviewing our information-sharing mechanisms across different regulators or different levels of government. To this end, the Chief Minister recently announced the creation of Access Canberra, a one-stop shop that brings together most of the ACT government’s shopfronts and regulatory arms. Access Canberra will eliminate the need for people to navigate multiple entry points across multiple directorates so that there is no “wrong door” to government. Streamlining access to government, including providing better information-sharing provisions, will give businesses more time to innovate and invest, and contribute to the revitalisation of our city.
As a positive step, Access Canberra’s first objective is to help drive innovation and growth into the ACT and better understand business needs when engaging regulatory approval processes and how these processes can be better aligned to provide tangible, practical benefits back to businesses and the community.
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