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I move that the Spending Cap (People’s Veto) Bill be now read a first time.  At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Bill be referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee.

The Bill is a timely response to New Zealand’s challenging economic circumstances.  It will provide more certainty around the growth in government spending, greater spending restraint, and will improve the transparency of spending decisions. 

Government measures to cut red tape are on track to cut compliance costs for businesses and consumers by around $200 million a year, Finance Minister Bill English and Regulatory Reform Minister Rodney Hide say.

The estimate is included in a new Ministry of Economic Development report, Regulatory Reform: Changes Affecting Compliance Costs for Business and Citizens. The report, which will be produced annually, measures progress towards the Government’s goals of better and less regulation.

The Government’s Review of Expenditure on Policy Advice identifies several significant issues with the cost, quality and management of policy advice and makes 36 recommendations to address them.

The review, announced last year, will help the Government’s wider programme to control growth in the costs of public sector back office functions and deliver better frontline public services, Finance Minister Bill English says.

However, it does not recommend specific cuts to policy advice spending.

Minister for Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide and Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Phil Heatley today announced the removal of 176 unnecessary regulations from the law books.

Minister for Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide says previous Governments did not pay enough attention to the quality of the stock of regulations.

“Many unnecessary regulations were allowed to remain on the law books and legislation has not been updated to keep up with the times,” Mr Hide said.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this morning.  It’s always a pleasure to be amongst the people who create the wealth in this community. 

If New Zealand is going to close the income gap with Australia, we’re going to need a lot more of you!

My topic for today is regulation – why it matters, and what the Government is doing about it. 

Minister for Regulatory Reform Rodney Hide today released the Cabinet paper and minutes relating to the adoption of Regulatory Standards Bill – formerly the Regulatory Responsibility Bill – drafted by the Regulatory Responsibility Taskforce in 2009 and adopted by the Government last month.

The new Productivity Commission's first two inquiries will be into housing affordability and international freight services – two areas that affect New Zealand's international competitiveness, Finance Minister Bill English and Regulatory Reform Minister Rodney Hide say.

The Ministers also announced the appointments of Sally Davenport and Graham Scott as commissioners, working alongside New Zealand Productivity Commission chairman Murray Sherwin.

Ministers will initially refer two topics for inquiry to the Productivity Commission:

Regulatory Reform Minister Rodney Hide will today introduce a Bill to Parliament to provide greater transparency and accountability for the quality of laws and regulations in New Zealand. 

“New Zealand has a problem with too much regulation, and too much bad regulation.  These regulations impose real costs on our businesses, and unnecessary burdens on individuals,” Mr Hide said.