Rowan Holzberger (Forde, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of the Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2025. In preparation for this, I have said that title a number of times out loud and in my head, and I stumble over the word 'regulatory'. It's difficult enough to say the word, let alone complete the task. When you're a businessperson or an individual dealing with government bureaucracy, regulation is confounding, it is constraining, it is a break on productivity, and it is very annoying, to say the least, on a personal level.

I'm reminded of the story I came across years ago of the young kid watching their grandmother cook a leg of lamb in a saucepan. He observed that the grandmother would chop off the end of the leg of lamb, put it in the saucepan and then cook it. It would be, of course, delicious, as all of those meals were. Years later his grandmother came to visit his house. She observed him cutting off the end of the leg of lamb, sticking it in the saucepan and then cooking it. She said, 'Why did you bother cutting off the end of the leg of lamb?' The grandson said, 'Well, that's what you used to do.' She said: 'Yes, but the only reason I used to do it was so that it would fit in the pan. You've got a bigger pan. You don't need to cut it off.' So often, regulation is just like that. It is about doing something which, at some time in the past, made sense but doesn't make sense anymore. And it is about looking at things which have become almost tradition but, really, when taking a second look, have become entirely superfluous.

It is something that I came across when I was in small business for myself. I used to run a small contract-mustering business in western New South Wales, where I learned that idea about personal responsibility and creating something out of nothing. Entrepreneurialism really is that—it's about taking what you have and forging ahead to create value for yourself and for the people in your life. I then took the lessons that I learned there, when we moved down to the coast, and I ran a construction company in Beenleigh. The same spirit of entrepreneurialism and creation is something which almost all entrepreneurs are seized by, but the most frustrating thing is dealing with unnecessary government regulation. As we go into the future, I think it is something that becomes more important to look at—that the regulations that are in place actually have some purpose and that they are about helping businesses and individuals rather than constraining them. Particularly as our economies move into the future, there is a need for us to move quickly as individuals, as businesses and as a country. That's why I commend this government for the work that it has done over the years but, more particularly, for the work that it did around the economic roundtable.

We were lucky enough in Forde to host our own economic roundtable, thanks to Anne Nalder from the Small Business Association, and I heard time and again that people were frustrated by government regulation. It is something which held them back in their businesses, held them back from employing people and held them back from providing a service to their customers. We were able to take some of those local examples and feed them into the national economic roundtable.

Let's just step back and reflect for a moment. Paul Keating often spoke about the moral purpose of economic reform. He argued that policy is not just about efficiency but about fairness, dignity and opportunity. This bill carries that same vision. It recognises that government is a servant and not a master; regulations are tools and not obstacles; and the goal is a system that protects, empowers and enables. Paul Keating might have also said that trying to navigate government services is like trying to do a crossword puzzle with half the clues missing while riding a roller-coaster. Now, thanks to these reforms, Australians can solve that puzzle and keep both feet on the ground.

Of course, it's not just businesses that are going to be advantaged by this bill but people too. We all have frustration dealing with government departments or, indeed, with private bureaucracies; everyone these days seems to want us to get onto a web portal and do their paperwork for them. This bill does deal with some of the personal problems, the individual problems, that people face when dealing with a government department. Think about somebody called Robert living in Logan. He relies on Medicare and Centrelink to manage his family's health and financial needs, and for months he has been owed Medicare benefits. In fact, something like $270 million in total is owed to nearly a million Australians who are in his situation. The problem is simple: his Centrelink bank details are up to date, but Medicare doesn't have the same information. Today, under the current system, he could wait weeks, even months, to get these funds—if he knew he was owed anything at all. With the changes in this bill, the so-called 'tell us once' approach will allow information shared with one agency to be available to others, meaning that he can get the money he's owed without repeated phone calls, multiple forms or frustration.

But, of course, he is not alone. Linda, a resident at the northern end of the Gold Coast, fled domestic violence. She has had to update her details with multiple government agencies: her new address, her child's name and her bank account. Today, every form she fills out is a chance for delay or an error—a potential stressor, when she should be focused on safety and rebuilding her life. This bill allows for her details to be updated once and shared securely across relevant government programs. In practical terms, it means that she spends less time repeating herself and more time supporting her child.

Take the healthcare provisions in this bill. The time frame for accessing multiple diagnostic imaging services has doubled, from seven to 14 days. Think about Simone, another young woman living on the northern Gold Coast, referred by her GP for both an X-ray and a CT scan. Under the old system, if she missed one appointment she had to go back for another referral. That wasted time, travel and stress is now gone, with this bill's changes. She can complete that imaging without unnecessary repetition, allowing her to focus on her recovery rather than on paperwork. For people in outer suburbs, where GP visits can take quite some time, this is not a small improvement; it is a transformative improvement.

One of the most important reforms is the 'tell us once' system. Currently you have to tell multiple government agencies the same information. It's like being stuck in a loop with your own life story, over and over again.

There are real examples of benefits available through this bill, such as healthcare identifiers. Digital sharing improves care and outcomes. For seniors, cards can be reissued automatically after overseas travel. Regarding childcare subsidies, simplified language encourages vulnerable families to apply. On fuel and energy security, companies can respond more flexibly to disruptions. These aren't abstract numbers; they're real and tangible improvements in people's lives.

This bill reduces unnecessary burdens across government. For example, marriage celebrants can now use secure digital documents instead of chasing paper. It means fewer trips to offices, less stress and, frankly, fewer opportunities to lose your sanity. Agencies can share information more effectively in projects like offshore gas development, which streamlines processes and reduces costs. So, for families and businesses in outer suburbs, this is a real win—less paperwork and more time for work and family or, if you're lucky, a chance to just have a cup of coffee without feeling guilty.

This takes a whole-of-government approach. It isn't piecemeal tinkering. It amends 28 acts and repeals two, and it affects 13 agencies. Government is a complicated machine. You can't oil just one cog and expect the engine to purr. This is orchestration, not patchwork. By coordinating reforms across departments, this bill ensures consistency, efficiency and coherence. It's a recognition that change works only when the system changes together, like a well rehearsed band. Everyone needs to play in tune.

This bill boosts productivity. Less regulatory friction means businesses can invest and operate efficiently and families can spend more time doing what matters. For Logan, for the northern Gold Coast and for outer suburban and regional areas, small and medium businesses drive local employment. This bill will help them grow without losing the protections that keep employees and consumers safe.

So today is not just another day of legislation. Today is a step forward in how our government serves the people and the small businesses of this nation. especially those in the outer suburban communities, like Logan on the northern Gold Coast. This bill is about making government work for Australians rather than Australians working for government. When we talk about regulation we really need to ask: Is this fit for purpose? Is this fit for the modern time? Why do these rules exist? What should they achieve? Yet we know that, if a law or rule exists for its own sake or because it has always existed, it loses its meaning, like cutting off the end of a leg of lamb. Entrepreneurialism is the way of the future.

Deputy Speaker Chesters, your advice the other day about ringing up Medicare clinics in our area was something that I took very much took to heart. It was about not waiting for the bureaucracy to tell us when the local GP clinics had taken up the government's bulk-billing incentive. It was about getting out there and doing it yourself. It was about getting out there and using your own skills to create something of real value. I now have a list of GPs in our area which have taken up the incentive. The number of GP practices in our area that are bulk-billing has in fact doubled, by the way, and we now have that list and are able to give it to people in our community. It is something that has created value for them. It is something that we have done outside of the bureaucracy.

The bureaucracy will get there in the end. I'm sure they'll do a more accurate and thorough job than we have, but taking that spirit of entrepreneurialism—which you did lead, Deputy Speaker—is something that I think is an example of the future of Australia. It is the future of work as we become less dependent on the old ways and less dependent on the recipes that we got from our grandparents, as successful and timely as they were. It is a recognition that people are now going to have the opportunity to create their own future, and the less regulation that gets in the way, the better. This is only the start, so to anybody who thinks of opposing this bill: don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This is about continuous process. This is the first in a series of regulatory reform bills that will improve productivity across government and the economy. I commend the bill to the House.

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