Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I commend the previous speaker, the member for Mitchell, on his contribution to this debate on the Omnibus Repeal Day (Autumn 2015) Bill 2015 and related legislation. In this place few people have the same passion he does for small government. Small government is sometimes a contentious idea, but on this side of the House, on the Liberal side of the House, we recognise that the great prosperity is not found here in Canberra; it is found when our citizens have enterprise and are prepared to go out and take a risk and government is actually taken out of their lives so that they can have a go and make something of their lives. I think it is a very refreshing moment, standing here in the parliament today speaking not on new laws, not on new regulation, not on a new invasion into the lives of everyday Australians but on the removal of government from our lives so that our citizens can achieve their full potential and our nation can achieve significant prosperity because everyday Australians are freed from government and have the opportunity to start those new enterprising businesses, to create the new prosperity for our nation and ultimately create the jobs that all Australians need.

This is, in no small measure, a very bold initiative. The coalition government has a commitment to reduce red tape by over $1 billion every single year. That has a very practical impact on those enterprising businesses that our nation needs in order to thrive. We have seen some bizarre opposition from members opposite around these red-tape repeal days. This is the third red-tape repeal day on which members have had the opportunity to speak. While we on this side of the House believe that the Australian people are intelligent and capable and should be free to live their lives how they choose, the Labor members of this House, those members opposite, believe that there is no problem that the government does not have a solution for—if there are any challenges in our society then government must be at the heart of the response to those challenges. This is a very fundamental divide between the two sides of politics.

I agree with the previous speaker, the member for Mitchell, that should one day the Labor members, unfortunately, move from that side of the House to this side then they might consider continuing with this initiative and, instead of talking about how great it is that the parliament has passed new laws, talk about how great it is that the parliament has removed laws, regulation and red tape so that Australians are free to live their lives how they choose.

In a very practical sense, these red-tape repeal days have achieved a very positive impact for the nation and particularly for my community. For Packer leather, a business in Narangba, there were crazy regulations such that when they needed chemicals registered in Australia—chemicals that went through a very significant registration process in the European Union and the United States—they had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to have those chemicals re-registered in Australia, essentially to fill out an enormous amount of bureaucratic paperwork to achieve the same end. With these red-tape repeal days we have managed to remove that regulation, and now Packer can spend those tens of thousands of dollars employing more locals.

This is a business that is now radically expanding. It is a manufacturing business that is over 100 years old. It is manufacturing leather for iconic Australian brands—Sherrin footballs made of Kangaroo, and cricket balls, as well as the leather that goes into R. M. Williams boots. They were forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the registration of and even the scientific measurements around their leather manufacturing machines imported from Italy. Of course, that regulation already occurred in the European Union. When they imported, they then had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the same regulation here in Australia to achieve the same outcome. Common sense would say, 'If it's good enough for the European Union, it's probably good enough for Australia. Why don't we simply adopt those standards?' In these red-tape repeal days, we have moved towards initiatives like that, which, again, are saving this business thousands of dollars that it is reinvesting into employing locals.

One of the things that I have been very proud of about this initiative and this round of reform is that it has really embraced the grassroots of this reform package by going out into the Australian community and talking to as many businesses as possible about how we can find these red-tape reductions. One of the first instances that we saw in this process was when the Assistant Treasurer came up to Caboolture, which is in my electorate. We had a community forum, and Ian Rodgers from R&R Hire in Caboolture got up and spoke about a very complicated piece of regulation around the PPSA, which, in short, is a very complicated bureaucratic system where hire companies have to register their equipment. In effect, it had the unintended consequence that, if you hired out a piece of equipment—a pallet jack or something like that—to a company for a few months and the company you hired it out to went broke, the liquidators would come in and seize that asset that actually belonged to the hire company as if it belonged to the business that hired it. This placed a huge burden on hire companies across the entire country, particularly in my community. The paperwork involved with registering on the PPSA was unbelievable.

This is a reform that few countries around the world have managed. It has been put in the too-hard basket for many years. When Josh Frydenberg came up to Caboolture, Ian Rodgers stood up and started to explain this. As put of this package, we managed to introduce a reform bill into this parliament to change and remove those laws. That bill has now passed the Senate, and we have been able to remove a significant burden of red tape from not only local hire companies but also hire companies across Australia. That Caboolture company itself has just recently doubled its staff. That is a huge success. It really shows that, when we get government out of our lives, when we get a practical removal of red tape and regulation for those small businesses, which do not have many staff to deal with it, they can then invest in new staff, making their businesses more productive, and put those resources into marketing and advertising so that they can get more sales. In a very practical sense, this reform package is making a very big difference when it comes to jobs growth, both locally and nationally.

There are other examples of some practical reforms in this reform bill before the House. We are implementing easier monthly PAYG for certain businesses. Businesses choosing to use the new method will only need to calculate their actual instalment income on a quarterly basis, and that will mean annual savings of about $2.7 million. That is a very practical change. We are improving the ATO website so that Australians can find relevant information faster, and that will see annual savings of about $48.5 million. We are removing the requirement for heavy vehicle operators of B-double truck combinations registered under the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme to fit additional spray suppression devices, which is giving us an annual saving of about $8.3 million. That is a very practical, simple change.

We are making identity checks simpler and easier for retailers and consumers when purchasing prepaid mobile phones. Everyone who has bought a prepaid mobile phone knows how annoying the paperwork is. This will make a very practical, real difference to that process, and that will give us annual savings of about $6.2 million.

Another initiative in this package is that students who receive government payments are now able to change their details online at a time that best suits them, without being required to contact a call centre or attend a service centre. I think everyone could understand how that is a very practical, simple change that will make a big difference in people's lives. It will deliver us a saving of about $2.7 million.

This reform initiative is a return to common sense. Here in Canberra, common sense often seems to be lacking, and it is very exciting to rise in the nation's parliament and talk about a very common-sense, practical reform that will get government out of the lives of everyday Australians and free them so that they can go out, have a go and invest in those businesses so that they can increase the productivity of our country and, ultimately, create more jobs for all Australians. For that reason, I strongly commend these bills to the House, and I look forward to speaking on the next package of reform of this government.

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