Page 1075 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 5 April 2016
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Sensible, minimal regulation is an essential step to support growth and diversification in our city’s economy. Appropriate regulatory and economic settings help achieve results for Canberra’s small businesses and consumers, complementing business opportunities that will arise from the start of direct international flights, the introduction of ride-sharing transport options, an even stronger higher education sector for the city, and the creation of a one-stop-shop approvals process through Access Canberra. Through this bill the government is making life easier for local businesses by amending or removing a series of regulations that accumulate to aggravate and add unnecessary costs and delays.
The red tape reduction bills that I have been bringing forward as minister are not developed in isolation from the business community. They are a direct response to approaches to us from business, from the community and from our own staff, who have identified issues within the regulatory framework of government. Our Regulatory Reform Panel is also the source of ideas for possible reforms.
Once concerns and new ideas are raised with government, we test them with stakeholders and peak bodies to ensure that any changes will reduce the burden on stakeholders without creating other negative consequences. For instance, we sought the advice of the Motor Trades Association on the status of high-voltage batteries in the Sale of Motor Vehicles Act, which is included in this bill. We also sought to see if we could expand the original concept to leverage additional opportunities—for example, the change to requirements for statutory declarations.
Each year we commit to present a red tape reduction omnibus bill to the Assembly. There will always be new ideas and approaches suggested on how we best ensure valued outcomes for business and the community are achieved in how we regulate. In this bill, and those that we will present in the future, we will strive to review and amend regulation so that it remains relevant, efficient and effective. This bill amends significant pieces of legislation, as I outlined in my presentation speech. These amendments will appreciably lower the administrative burden for businesses, other organisations and Canberra residents.
I turn now to the University of Canberra, an area of some interest and opposition, I see, from the party that is quickly establishing itself as the anti-university party in this city. This bill is another step in our strategy to allow the University of Canberra to grow in both size and in reputation. And we do this by making it simpler for the university to undertake commercial projects and to meet its financial reporting obligations.
Firstly, these amendments will ease the burden of establishing corporations or joint ventures in which the University of Canberra has a controlling interest. Secondly, they remove certain duplicative or unnecessary reporting requirements with respect to these corporations and joint ventures, such as providing reports to the government that have already been provided to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
It is important to note, Madam Speaker, that the treasurer of the day retains the ability to request information that is significant or where the provision of such information
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