Macindoe Tim: Regulatory Reform Bill — First Reading 
Macindoe Tim: Regulatory Reform Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:670;Page:16742] 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 The National-led Government is delighted to see this important measure introduced into the House this afternoon. I start by acknowledging the work that the Minister for Regulatory Reform and his officials have completed in the 2¼ years since the current Government came into office. It is a significant body of work— 
Hon Lianne Dalziel 
: So slow! 
TIM MACINDOE 
: So slow calls Ms Dalziel the member who over 9 years saw an absolute explosion in regulation and did nothing to fix the problem. In the 2¼ years since the current Government came into office a very significant body of work has been completed. This will make an important contribution to this country’s recovery from one of the most severe economic downturns of the past century. That is one of the reasons why I was waiting with interest to hear the position that the Labour Opposition would take on the Regulatory Reform Bill during its first reading. I have to say it was a bit cute to hear the previous Minister of Commerce suggesting that the genesis of this bill lay in measures that she had taken under the previous Labour administration because Labour’s record in this area is one of abject failure. Once again we have a very clear example of Labour’s spin being totally contradicted by its record in Government. 
Ms Dalziel also queried whether anyone might be vaguely interested in this bill—that too speaks volumes about Labour’s awareness of economic realities. I can assure this House that many many New Zealanders particularly business owners are waiting with bated breath for the passage of this measure. They have been hanging out for it for years as they have been drowning in red tape and that is why we are delighted to welcome this bill today. 
Members on this side of the House never lose sight of our vision and our determination to secure a brighter future for all New Zealanders. As we focus on lifting long-term economic growth in order to create jobs boost incomes raise living standards and provide world-class public services it is clear that this bill we are debating this afternoon is a crucially significant part of the package. By improving and reducing regulation in our business framework we will encourage conditions that are essential if we are to boost New Zealand’s productivity growth international competitiveness and living standards. 
There can be no doubt that New Zealand businesses welcome the Regulatory Reform Bill. There cannot be many electorate MPs in this House who have not been contacted by local business owners whose companies are drowning in red tape and who are crying out for relief. Much of that red tape was the product of the nanny State tendencies—some would say “obsession”—of the previous Labour-led administration. Labour’s philosophy that if it moves it needs to be regulated has cost New Zealand businesses millions of dollars in the past decade. Particularly in the current economic climate New Zealand’s businesses face enough challenges without having to grapple with compliance costs caused by unnecessary regulation. Those costs are passed on to households and families and they cost many vulnerable New Zealand workers their jobs. 
Members opposite do not like being confronted with the consequences of their financial illiteracy but those were the stark realities of Labour’s “we know best” mentality which saw this country slide into recession during Labour’s final term in office. Regulations passed by the previous Labour Government would have prohibited the sale from 1 January this year of over 1000 common household products that are sold in cardboard or refill packs even though the toxicity of those containers is barely more than that found in table salt or lemon juice. Labour’s excessive regulations would have added over $20 million to family grocery bills and sent more than $30 million plastic containers into our already bulging stream of waste products. Thank goodness the new Government has stepped in to prevent that economic burden and environmental strain. 
Let me digress for a moment to congratulate our current Minister for the Environment Dr Nick Smith on the exciting initiative he announced last week that will see many many plastic waste products recycled into road cones. It is a great thing for the economy and it is a great thing for the environment. 
Incredibly Labour’s regulations would have seen popular washing products such as Surf Persil Spray n Wipe and even the iconic Toilet Duck banned from our supermarket shelves. Those regulations would have put the Unilever factory in Petone out of business. Hundreds of jobs in one of New Zealand’s leading companies—and in one of Labour’s supposed political heartlands—would have gone down the gurgler. That would have been just the tip of the iceberg. It is indisputable that New Zealand households and businesses have endured a tidal wave of regulations in the early years of the 21st century. The statistics paint a sorry picture: between 2000 and 2009 over 68000 pages of regulations were passed. They came on top of existing regulations that were already considerable but it is very clear that the previous two decades paled in comparison with the regulatory avalanche that the Clark-Cullen-Cunliffe-Dalziel administration unleashed on New Zealand’s households and businesses. The consequences of that rampant rush to regulate were dire for this country’s productivity. It had been less than dramatic it has to be admitted at an average 2.1 percent per annum during the 1980s and 1990s but 2.1 percent per annum growth was positively spectacular in comparison with the paltry pitiful 0.7 percent per annum productivity growth that New Zealand averaged from 2000 to 2006 under the Labour administration. 
This is an important measure but it is just one of a number of weapons in the Government’s arsenal to cut red tape and to improve productivity. National members welcome the introduction of the Regulatory Reform Bill and we look forward to its smooth passage through this House as do businesses and households from one end of the country to the other.