Rodney Hide announces attack on red tape and petty bureaucracy

Hon Rodney Hide, Minister for Regulatory Reform
Wednesday, February 4 2009

The Building Act and the laws covering swimming pools and shop trading hours are included in a government-wide review of red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy.

Minister for Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide is directing the review. He says a lot of the rules and regulations which affect peoples' everyday lives and businesses are minor but are past their use-by date or just plain silly. "Others are more serious and can affect jobs, load big costs onto businesses and drive people crazy."

He says the rules around backyard pools are far too complex and impose ridiculous costs on families. "You shouldn't have to jump through hoops just to put in a pool for the kids. There's a lack of clarity in the current legislation that's resulted in bizarre obligations such as having to build a fence around a pool which is already locked with a padlock."

Mr Hide says the shop trading laws need changing. "Garden centres can open on Easter Sunday but the Mitre 10 hardware shop nearby, which also sells plants, cannot. That is ridiculous."

Water drinking standards are also included in the review. "Over-the-top regulations imposed by the previous government have put great financial stress on rural communities who were previously happy with their water supply.

It's also loaded huge compliance costs onto councils."

The review has only just begun and there will be a progressive rollout of the results through the year. Mr Hide is expecting extensive changes, with a number of regulations likely to disappear altogether.

"Some of the changes will impact directly on just a few people. For example we're looking at how we can make it easier for overseas-trained professionals to get registered here, rather than having to drive taxis for a living. Other changes, such as reforms of the Building Act, will affect many people and the cumulative effect of removing needless rules and regulations will be substantial.

"People just want to get on with their lives unhindered by silly rules. These reforms will help them do that."

ENDS

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