Shanks Katrina: Regulatory Standards Bill — First Reading 
Shanks Katrina: Regulatory Standards Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:673;Page:19765] 
KATRINA SHANKS (National) 
: 
 As the Minister for Regulatory Reform mentioned earlier the main purpose of the Regulatory Standards Bill is to improve the quality of regulation in New Zealand. A key part of this Government’s plan for stronger economic growth is cutting red tape and regulations. The simple fact is that New Zealand has a problem with excessive regulation. These regulations impose real costs on our businesses and unnecessary burdens on individuals. We want to make it easier for New Zealand companies to do business to lift productivity to create jobs to boost incomes to improve living standards and to provide the world-class public services our Kiwi families deserve. National believes that better regulation and less regulation are essential to help New Zealand become more internationally competitive and a more attractive place to live and do business. We recognise that in order to allow our businesses to move ahead to grow and to develop we need to address—and remove where possible—barriers to this growth. 
The Regulatory Standards Bill attempts to provide greater transparency and accountability for the quality of laws and regulations in New Zealand. The bill has its origins in a member’s bill known as the Regulatory Responsibility Bill which Parliament’s Commerce Committee examined in 2008. The committee recommended that the member’s bill not be passed but that the Government establish a high-level expert task force to consider options for improving regulatory review and decision-making processes. The current Regulatory Standards Bill is the result of the work of this task force. 
As my colleagues have mentioned the Regulatory Standards Bill would require all proposed new laws and regulations to be assessed against a core set of accepted regulatory principles based on existing well-established guidelines. This is about improving the quality of regulation in New Zealand. The bill aims to increase the transparency of regulation making and the accountability of regulation makers. In essence the bill has three components. Firstly it provides a benchmark for good regulation through a set of regulatory principles that all regulations should comply with. Secondly it provides transparency by requiring those proposing and creating regulation to certify whether the regulation is compatible with the principles. Thirdly it provides monitoring of the certification process. 
We know that every New Zealander is affected by regulation in a number of ways. Some regulation is important. It helps us live safer lives get treated fairly protect and manage our environment have a competitive and efficient economy and much more. However regulation also has costs and can have unintended effects. That is why improving the quality of regulation is a priority for this Government. We believe that better regulation and less regulation are essential to assist New Zealand to become more internationally competitive and a more attractive place to live and do business. 
We are committed to introducing new regulation only when we are satisfied that it is required reasonable and robust. We will review existing regulation in order to identify and remove requirements that are unnecessary ineffective or excessively costly. In fact since being elected the National-led Government has begun a programme of reviews of the effectiveness of important regulatory regimes particularly those that have a significant impact on productivity. We have simplified employment law. National’s employment law package encourages employers to hire new staff reduces compliance costs and gives greater choice around holidays. The voluntary 90-day trial period has created 13000 jobs in small and medium sized businesses. We have extended this period to all employers. 
We have simplified the Resource Management Act to balance our economic opportunities with our environmental responsibilities. We have simplified building regulation. Our Better Building Blueprint is making it easier and cheaper to build good quality homes and buildings. We are amending the Building Act to encourage a “build it right first time” approach keeping builders accountable and streamlining the consent process to make it cheaper for homeowners. 
Better and less regulation has made and will continue to make New Zealand more productive and prosperous. I look forward to the Regulatory Standards Bill coming to the Commerce Committee so we can discuss how this bill can improve the quality of regulation in New Zealand. Thank you.