Page 755 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 17 March 2015
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There were 14,000-odd job cuts under the former Labor government here in the ACT. The wind is being taken out of local businesses’ sails simply because they do not know where this government, locally, stands when it comes to supporting business. It is a question that has been left; a lot of businesses have been left wondering. My family business did likewise. As the heat goes out of the market, the economic settings that this government has control of, that the Chief Minister and Treasurer has control of—to stimulate and increase activity in the economy by maybe reducing some taxes or creating some concessions to make it easier for businesses to enter and create that activity—were simply ignored. Many businesses were forced to make those difficult decisions to lay off staff, to close their doors and to go elsewhere.
Let me get back to the subject of today’s MPI, a regulatory one-stop shop. All this does is pay further lip-service to the business community. It fails to actually implement the fundamental changes, the fundamental restructuring of the way government does business and the support that government gives to local business that the ACT is much calling out for. This continues to show the contempt that the Treasurer, now Chief Minister, and this government, for the last 4,873 days, have shown for local business, and the government continues to fail to meet those standards.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Urban Renewal and Minister for Tourism and Events) (4.39): I am very pleased to speak today on the great importance of having a streamlined regulatory approval process in the territory. Every person in Canberra is subject at one point in their lives to some form of regulatory approval process—whether that is registering a significant life event, establishing a business, obtaining a licence, or applying for building approvals—so regulations are important. They protect us from things like unsafe drivers, unsafe food and unsafe buildings. Canberrans should rightly expect to drive safely on the road and to be able to eat safely in restaurants. We always need to make sure the way we regulate actually achieves safety for the public and never becomes a process in box-ticking or burying business in paperwork that does nothing to help make the public safe. One of the great strengths of a one-stop shop for regulatory approvals is that it gives the government a clear picture about the regulatory burden on individuals and businesses. Having this picture is an important step to help us quickly identify and change burdens that do not make sense or stifle innovation.
It is no secret that these are difficult economic times for our city. As you pointed out, Mr Assistant Speaker, the federal government’s harsh cuts are, indeed, a threat to jobs in our city. It is up to the territory government to stand up for businesses and workers in this town and do what we can to protect Canberra jobs from those who see no value in Canberra jobs. We know which party that is. Sometimes this will mean supporting the economy directly, and this is something I am very proud our government has been able to achieve with our $2.5 billion stimulus package. I note that three times in debate today the shadow treasurer and the Leader of the Opposition have indicated they do not support a stimulatory role for the territory government at this time—that we are apparently spending too much and doing too much in the economy.
Opposition members interjecting—
We have just heard by way of interjections the hard right faction of the
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