Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2015) Bill 2015. This bill is a coalition initiative which seeks to amend and repeal redundant and ineffective legislation across seven portfolios of government. This particular bill is one of four such bills which this government has proposed since it came to office that have been directed at cutting red tape and repealing redundant legislation. This bill delivers on our commitment to the Australian people to clean up the mess Labor legislators left in the wake of their disastrous term of government.

This bill is comprehensively consistent with the coalition's commitment to cut red tape and reduce the suffocating regulatory burden big government has on Aussie businesses, on individuals and on our community sector. Not only is the bill delivering on our commitment to smaller, more efficient government; it is also true to our values. We of the coalition know that big and intrusive government is ineffective, cruel and discouraging to human achievement. Ours is a philosophy of strategic but limited government. We believe in creating the space for success, not suffocating it. The coalition's commitment to freeing Australia from unnecessary and burdensome red tape has been an essential change in direction from the overburdening, overregulating, job-destroying mindset of the Australian Labor Party when they were last in government.

We are delivering on that commitment today. The coalition knows that, when you trust the people of Australia to make their own decisions with small, efficient regulatory frameworks, we actually succeed as a nation. Labor does not trust the individual. To them individual enterprise must be suffocated under a mountain of regulatory compliance measures.

There is a risk that this bill might not receive the attention it deserves because it deals with abstract policy or because it does not deal with some hot topic of the day. On the contrary, this bill delivers better legislative outcomes across a broad range of government portfolios that affect many, many Australians. I particularly commend the steps this bill is taking to reduce the regulatory burden we have on our agricultural sector. Agriculture is an essential pillar in the Australian economy. The coalition is fully committed to attaining better outcomes for the agricultural sector. Labor do not and never will understand agriculture; that is why they are prioritising their own CFMEU mates over our farmers on the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Because this government is fiscally responsible and economically competent, it takes a different perspective on ChAFTA and a different approach to cutting red tape for our farmers.

In developing this bill we have consulted broadly with the National Farmers' Federation, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the World Wildlife Fund, Greening Australia, Conservation Volunteers Australia and Landcare networks as well as having comprehensive consultation with the Department of Agriculture. This bill will deliver for agriculture and balance the needs of our farmers with the responsibilities we have to the environment. At the heart of the coalition government's mission to build a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia is less regulation for our agricultural sector. For too long, more regulation has been the default option for policymakers. During the previous government more than 21,000 new regulations found their way into national life, with poorly designed and inefficient regulation imposing unnecessary costs on each and every Australian. This is true of their approach to agriculture, a sector they lack the capacity to understand.

We have ensured through previous omnibus repeal day bills that Australia's biosecurity arrangements have been reformed to provide greater flexibility to manage biosecurity risks. We have reduced compliance associated with illegal logging due diligence requirements. We have removed the requirement for tail tags for cattle destined for the European Union and we have improved access to export terminals for grain exporters. Importantly, through making space for agriculture, we have ensured that our farmers are better prepared than ever to make the most of the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement, the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement and, of course, the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. These are agreements that will deliver benefits for Australian farmers and the agricultural sector next year, the year after and for very many years into the future. Through cutting red tape and reducing the regulatory burden on our farmers we have continued to prepare them to take advantage of these historic free trade agreements. The Labor Party, as I have said earlier, adopts the same view on ChAFTA as it does on reducing regulatory burden on Australians. The free trade agreement with China will deliver unprecedented opportunities to our agricultural sector.

In the same way as this government are committed to cutting red tape, we are resolved to dropping the barriers of trade between Australia and the world's most populous nation, China. As I said earlier, agriculture is a key pillar of our national economy. The future of Australia's prosperity is contingent on a strong and productive agricultural sector. Through this bill the government are taking steps to ensure continued productivity in that sector, alongside our efforts to open markets with free trade. If Labor is for free trade, they should be for deregulation. It is evident through their capitulation to their CFMEU masters that they lack the conviction and the commitment to the future of Australia's economic prosperity to reduce red tape here in Australia and through our trade agreements.

We in the coalition government are committed to our economy and to our farmers. That is why this bill cuts regulation in the agriculture portfolio. Importantly, part 2 of the bill will amend the Natural Resources Management (Financial Assistance) Act 1992 to abolish the Australian Landcare Council. In May 2014 the government announced that, to reduce unnecessary duplication and red tape, the ALC and the Natural Heritage Trust Advisory Committee—the NHTA Committee—would be consolidated into one committee, which is sensible policy reform. This section of the bill is utterly consistent with our promise to the Australian agricultural sector to reduce red tape and remove unnecessary duplication.

This bill also delivers on our promise for smaller, more efficient government, and that is true not only for the agricultural sector but also across all sectors of the economy. Crucially, since our election we have focused on facilitating growth in our business community, particularly our small business communities, through red tape reduction. We have implemented an easier monthly pay-as-you-go system for certain businesses. This has given businesses the ability to choose their own method to calculate their actual instalment income on a quarterly basis, which has delivered an annual compliance saving of a whopping $2.7 million. We have reformed the 457 visa program by streamlining the processing of sponsorship, nomination and visa applications. Through reforming sponsorship requirements we have reduced the time and, importantly, the cost to business. Through increasing the sponsorship approval period from 12 to 18 months for start-up businesses and through providing greater flexibility in relation to the English language testing and skill requirements we have delivered annual compliance savings of close to $30 million. We have also improved the ATO website so that six million Australians—over one-quarter of the population—can find relevant information more quickly, which has delivered an annual compliance saving of $48.5 million.

These are only some of the legislative reductions we have made in the business sector which, along with our commitments to fostering growth and jobs, have successfully created 300,000 new jobs since our election in September 2013. This bill is part of a sound and effective legislative agenda which at its heart believes in removing unnecessary legislation and reducing red tape. This bill is an essential part of the government's commitment to smaller, more efficient government. We are cutting the regulatory burden on businesses, reducing red tape for our community sector and delivering more room for individual enterprise.

Labor are unwilling to cut red tape because, fundamentally, they do not understand the culture of business or of individual enterprise, particularly small, family based businesses. Labor is addicted to big government, big unions and therefore, by definition, big taxes. The coalition government understands that what is required to foster growth and jobs in our communities is less regulation, not more. This bill seeks to remove the weeds left behind by Labor. It cuts back the overgrown and out-of-control regulatory burden facing Australians, and it creates space for enterprise to flourish.

This government is true to its word when it comes to cutting red tape and reducing the burden of regulation. On behalf of my constituents in Barker, I welcome the benefits that this omnibus repeal day bill will deliver across a broad range of portfolios of government, and I welcome further reductions in the size of government in Australia. I commend the bill to the House.

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