Hon Lianne Dalziel
Minister of Commerce, Minister for Food Safety,
Associate Minister of Justice, MP for Christchurch East

13 September 2008 Media Statement

Omnibus bill tidies up red tape across laws

Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel has introduced the first of what she expects will be an annual omnibus Bill which provides a new mechanism for dealing with small legislative changes that will help reduce compliance costs for businesses across a range of different laws.

"The great thing about this Bill is not so much the content, although these little issues matter a lot to the people who are affected, it is the fact that we now have a useful mechanism for fixing small regulatory issues that might not otherwise find their way onto a busy legislative agenda.

"The fixes we're making cover a diverse range of policy areas and laws, but their unifying theme is that they all aim to improve regulatory frameworks and reduce compliance costs for business. They deal with regulatory duplication, gaps, administrative errors and inconsistencies between different pieces of legislation that collectively create unnecessary compliance costs and uncertainty for business," Lianne Dalziel said.

"The Standing Orders Committee has approved the use of an omnibus Bill because the proposed amendments deal with an inter-related topic that implements a single broad policy – in this case, improving regulation and cutting business compliance costs.

"We now have a useful legislative vehicle that supports the government’s overall effort to ensure that our regulation is necessary, cost-effective and proportionate to the risk it is addressing. Our regulatory frameworks must be of the highest quality if our businesses are to compete internationally and be as innovative and productive as possible."

Lianne Dalziel says the Bill supports the continuous quality improvement of New Zealand’s laws that impact on business.

The Bill is a result of the Quality Regulation Review completed in September last year. It addresses issues raised by businesses, government agencies and other stakeholders that require changes to legislation. Changes to the Marine Mammals Protection Regulations are also part of this package.

Lianne Dalziel says that the Bill will deliver considerable benefits for business across the wide range of policy areas the Bill covers.

"These changes are small fixes individually, but for business these small things add up. This government is committed to do all that it can to address barriers, big or small, to make life easier for New Zealand business operators."

ENDS

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