The Australian Institute of Company Directors has issued a new policy priorities paper calling on the next government of Australia to take action on key issues for directors, including a new approach to regulation and better consultation with business.
The paper, Governing for a More Prosperous Australia: Key Issues for Directors in the 2013 Election, calls on the Federal Government to show leadership in implementing a reform agenda that will have long term benefits for Australian businesses, Australian jobs and the economy as a whole.
It also asks the new Government to focus on the importance of proper consultation with business on policy proposals and legislation to ensure that unintended consequences and practical problems can be identified and dealt with.
These views are supported by our paper Towards Better Regulation, which was also issued this week. The paper is a follow up from a discussion document released last year and is informed by consultation with business.
The paper focuses on getting the regulatory process right, and it is important to recognise that it is not just about having less regulation – we need better and more efficient regulation.
The whole system of creating and removing regulation needs to be reformed, not just the individual regulations themselves.
We are calling on the Federal Government to show leadership in implementing a reform agenda that will have long term benefits for Australian businesses, Australian jobs and the economy as a whole. While the reforms should be initiated and supported by the Commonwealth Government, there needs to be a consistent national response to the reforms.
As a starting point for implementing the recommendations for regulatory reform, the Australian Institute of Company Directors has suggested that a Regulation Summit could be held in the first 100 days of the next term of government, bringing together business, senior ministers, key advisers and regulators, to develop an action agenda for reforming the process of regulation creation and ‘destocking’ the existing accumulation of red tape.
Phil Butler is Manager – NFP, Public Sector & ACT at the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Level 3 54 Marcus Clarke Street Canberra T: 02 6132 3200 |www.companydirectors.com.au
