Simplify this: Weatherill dumps red tape watchdog
A cheeky public servant made their thoughts clear about the likely success of the Government's red tape reduction initiative promoted in the State Administration Centre in 2013.
In a case that could have come straight out of Yes Minister, the Weatherill Government has disbanded its Red Tape Reduction Steering Committee because it was too complicated.
The “Simplify” red tape reduction initiative was the driving force behind Labor’s push to streamline the number of government boards and committees, but ironically it has itself been replaced by two new entities.
A Government spokesman told InDaily: “The Red Tape Reduction Steering Committee was replaced in favour of more targeted industry engagement through the establishment of a Simpler Regulation Unit and the Small Business Round Table.”
Treasurer Tom Kountantonis confirmed the committee’s work had ended, telling parliament this month: “We are going for a simpler regulation.”
“We think we have done a fair bit of work reducing red tape,” he said.
“We have done a substantial amount of work, and now we are simplifying and streamlining our regulatory processes … so we are moving to another stage of that process.”
The Simpler Regulation Unit was established late last year as a plank of the Premier’s economic priority to make South Australia “the best place to do business”.
In a statement, the Government claims its focus “is to work with the business community in particular priority industries such as Premium Food and Wine, Minerals and Energy, Tourism, and Health and Biomedical Research sectors, to remove unnecessary burdens and create a system of regulation that supports innovation, new investment and jobs”.
Asked by the Opposition whether the winding up of the Red Tape Steering Committee implied the Government was satisfied with the current level of bureaucratic red tape, the Premier replied: “No: in fact, there is much work to be done. That is why we established the Simpler Regulation Unit.”
“This is the hard work of policy development, not the glib one-liners that come from those opposite,” Jay Weatherill told parliament.
“It’s actually all about hard work, but those opposite wouldn’t know hard work if it hit them in the face. What is it – 10 o’clock, get a café latte, read the paper and then work out what you’re going to ask us? ‘Oh, it’s hard bloody work.’”
