Red tape ‘dead weight on economic activity’

LABOR’S new federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner wants business to know he’s also the minister for deregulation.

Mr Tanner’s formal ministerial title includes “deregulation” — the first time that portfolio has been included.

“That sends a very powerful signal to the wider business community that we are serious about this,” he said.

Mr Tanner said his new title reflected Labor’s belief too many regulations would hamper economic activity.

“If they’re allowed to get out of control, (they’re) a dead weight on our economy and our business,” he said.

“We’ve got a responsibility to engage with business and to try to get the best, most balanced regulatory outcomes.”

Mr Tanner said his priority targets included the process of financial services reform, which he described as a “mess”.

“That’s imposed very large paperwork obligations associated with disclosure on financial services companies for minimal benefit to consumers because nobody reads the stuff they’re required to produce,” he said.

As well, the new Minister for Finance and Deregulation also will pursue the task of harmonising legislation across the states, especially in education and health.

Another area of reform Mr Tanner has identified — as long ago as 1999 — is Australia’s sometimes overlapping three tiers of government, federal, state and local.

“If anything the situation is a lot worse that it was in 1999 because of the politicking of the Howard government,” he said.

“People don’t know who’s in charge, they don’t know where the buck stops and we’ve got a great opportunity to disentangle these things.”

Mr Tanner said the new federal Labor Government would require the states to run public hospitals within a national and a “rational” funding framework.

But if the system could not be made to work well the Federal Government was willing to step in and take over public hospitals, he said.

“We are committed to getting the efficiencies and the savings that will enable us to have a better health system, a better education system.”

Mr Tanner said the fact Australia now had Labor Government across all the states and federally was no guarantee for reform and harmonisation of regulation.

“We’re always going to have tensions there. The big difference will be that they are approached with a constructive frame of mind.”