Government must act now on red tape

Government must act now on red tape
PEAK business organisation, the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) has called on the State Government to take immediate action to reduce the level of red tape hindering business growth and development.
Red tape compliance was costing the State economy more than $600 million each year.
This follows the release of the Government’s own report, ‘Measuring Red Tape – Understanding the Compliance Burden on Tasmanian Businesses’. The report was based on a survey of Tasmanian businesses that attracted more than 770 responses.
TCCI Chief Executive Michael Bailey said while the study and report encompassed federal, state and local government legislation and regulations, the State Government should take a lead and cut its red tape to reduce business costs.
Mr Bailey said the report revealed that some businesses spent up to 12.5 hours a week managing their regulatory requirements.
“While it shows that 70 per cent of all Tasmanian businesses spend less than five hours meeting their state-based regulatory requirements, in total this amounts to millions of dollars in costs and imposes a significant burden on business, economic growth and employment,” he said.
“Based on the value of Gross State Product this represented an annual economic loss of 2.6 per cent or approximately $610 million.
“The consequence of this is fewer jobs for Tasmanians and a reduced ability for businesses to survive, let alone expand and develop.
“Red tape impacting most on business includes regulations covering taxation, planning and development requirements, employment, workplace health and safety, licences and permits to conduct business.
“Duplication in reporting requirements, understanding obligations and the time taken in preparing information were seen as the biggest drivers of regulatory costs.”
Mr Bailey said now that the Government had received the report, business needed to hear its response and a strategy to dramatically reduce the compliance burden and cost.
“The time for vague promises and platitudes is long gone. We now require clear policies and timelines for cutting red tape.
“We have a clear window between now and the end of this year. The State Government has the opportunity to begin the process now and all parties can go to the election with promises of continuing the momentum of reducing the regulatory burden on business.
“Although only 771 businesses responded to the report survey, this is sufficient to get a real picture of the issue and I suspect that many businesses were simply too busy attempting to maintain their day-to-day operations to participate.
“The red tape burden has consistently shown up as a major inhibitor of business and employment growth in the TCCI’s quarterly Tasmanian Survey of Business Expectations and although the survey indicates that compare favourably with the other States, the cost is still too high.
“The result is lost economic activity and lost job creation.
“The Tasmanian Government must now take the lead and act to redress this situation,” Mr Bailey said.