Regulatory Reform Bill and Regulatory Reform (Repeals) Bill Third Reading Speech

I move that the:

• Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Amendment Bill
• Animal Products Amendment Bill
• Companies Amendment Bill
• Conservation Amendment Bill
• Films, Videos and Publications Classification Amendment Bill
• Fisheries Amendment Bill
• Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Amendment Bill
• Radiocommunications Amendment Bill
• Registered Architects Amendment Bill
• Statistics  Amendment Bill
• Takeovers Amendment Bill
• Unit Trusts Amendment Bill
• Wine Amendment Bill
• Regulatory Reform (Repeals) Bill

be now read a third time.

Until the Committee of the Whole stage, these amendments were progressed through the Regulatory Reform Bill and the Regulatory Reform (Repeals) Bill.

The Regulatory Reform Bill removes unnecessary costs to business.

Using an omnibus bill to fix up the fairly minor legislative niggles that caused these unnecessary costs, is an efficient use of the House’s time.

These thirteen Bills will result in the following changes:

The Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Amendment Bill removes the requirement for unnecessary registry information to be included on the public register.  It also simplifies the registry process for cancelling obsolete product registrations or when there is continued non-compliance. 

The Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Amendment Bill, the Animal Products Amendment Bill, and the Wine Amendment Bill line up the ‘recognition’ of ‘agencies’ and ‘persons’ across food safety related legislation.

The Companies Amendment Bill removes unnecessary requirements and provides greater certainty for business.  Companies will be able to use electronic voting systems and shareholders will be able to participate in meetings via the internet.

The Conservation Amendment Bill provides increased certainty for concession holders and their business operations.

The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Amendment Bill modernises labelling requirements and provides more efficient and effective classification review processes.

The Fisheries Amendment Bill improves fisheries’ regulation and provides a simple process for registration as a notified user.

The Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Amendment Bill removes conflicting or unnecessary requirements on credit unions.

The Radiocommunications Amendment Bill simplifies the process for cancelling or modifying radio spectrum licences.

The Registered Architects Amendment Bill allows for more efficient complaints and disciplinary processes.

The Statistics Amendment Bill means that non-government researchers will have equitable access to microdata.

The Takeovers Amendment Bill provides greater certainty in the application of the Takeovers Code and enhances the operational efficiency of the Takeovers Panel.

The Unit Trusts Amendment Bill enables accounts and financial statements to be distributed electronically to unit holders.

The Regulatory Reform (Repeals) Bill clears the Statute book of 31 spent Acts and consequentially revokes three regulations.

These Bills all improve the regulatory environment.

I commend these Bills to the House.