Small Business - Coalition Deregulation Taskforce

01/12/11

Small business is the engine room of the Australian economy. Australian small businesses employ over 4 million people and represent 95 percent of all businesses.

The compliance burden on Australian business is increasing and impacting on productivity and competitiveness. Studies of red tape in Australia have put the cost of red tape as high as 4 percent of all business costs and the Productivity Commission has estimated the rewards for red tape reduction alone to be worth $12 billion in extra GDP.

Since Labor was elected in 2007, it has introduced over 12,835 new regulations and increased the compliance burden on Australia’s 2.7 million small businesses.

During 2011 I have visited over 130 businesses across Australia and I am convinced that freeing up small business from the burden of red tape is a key to lifting national productivity and creating jobs.

The Coalition is committed to reducing compliance costs wherever possible and I am committing the Coalition to setting a target of reducing existing compliance costs across the economy by $1 billion each year at least for the first term of a Coalition government.

We are also committed to cutting the growth in red tape by requiring every new Bill to be vetted to ensure that, wherever possible, compliance costs are reduced and the economy benefits. We will also publicly detail the compliance burden for all new laws as a means of ensuring accountability.

Today I also announce the formation of the Coalition Deregulation Taskforce, to be chaired by Liberal Senator for New South Wales, Arthur Sinodinos AO, with the Member for Higgins, Kelly O’Dwyer and Liberal Senator for Tasmania, David Bushby appointed as Deputy Chairs.

They will assist the Shadow Minister for Finance and Deregulation, The Hon. Andrew Robb AO and the Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition and Consumer Affairs, The Hon. Bruce Billson.

The Deregulation Taskforce will work with each and every Coalition Shadow Minister over the coming months to identify ways to reduce the cost of red tape compliance, with a focus on the needs and problems experienced by small business.

Senator Sinodinos will use his government experience and private sector business acumen to forensically hold each government department and programme to account, working closely with Bruce Billson to ensure that the engine room of the economy, the small business sector, receives the benefit of red tape reduction.

The Taskforce will report by 1^st July 2012. The report will inform future Coalition policy direction and identify some of the ways to achieve the Coalition’s target red tape reduction.

Already the Coalition has announced a series of initiatives to reduce red tape and assist small business.

The Coalition will:

1. 1. Simplify the administration of compulsory employee superannuation contributions by allowing small businesses to remit compulsory superannuation contributions to the ATO which would then distribute to superannuation funds;
2. 2. Move the administration of the national paid parental leave scheme from small businesses to the government’s Family Assistance Office;
3. 3. End the Gillard Government’s attacks on family businesses and the self employed by recognising contractors as a legitimateform of business and allow them the freedom to engage and contribute to the economy without harassment;
4. 4. Rescind Labor’s carbon tax. The carbon tax will increase the costs of every small business and will export jobs and emissions overseas;
5. 5. Strengthen support for small businesses impacted by natural disasters through the provision of concessional loans, not only for those directly affected, but also those consequentially affected by a natural disaster, and
6. 6. Ensure the Minister for Small Business is a member of cabinet and strengthening the voice of small business at the cabinet table.

These initiatives will lift productivity, cut compliance costs for business and public institutions and result in lower administration costs for government.