Robertson H V Ross: Regulatory Improvement Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Robertson H V Ross: Regulatory Improvement Bill — Second Reading In Committee 
[Sitting date: 30 March 2010. Volume:661;Page:10184. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON (Labour—Manukau East) 
: 
 All I can say about regulatory reform and the Regulatory Improvement Bill is hurrah! At last something is being done. It was initiated by the previous Labour Government and the Hon Lianne Dalziel. It is good to see— 
John Hayes 
: You had 9 years to fix it and didn’t. 
H V ROSS ROBERTSON 
: I say to Mr Hayes that it is good to see that this legislation has been carried forward by this Government. I speak on this side of the House for small business. When last in Opposition I was also the spokesperson for small business and I learnt a number of things. I learnt how passionate small-business owners are about their business. I learnt how much effort commitment and dedication they put in to make sure their business is successful. To me small businesses are the locomotive of growth the driver of GDP and the bastion of employment. We cannot do enough for them. One of the things that I learnt then and it has been reinforced now is the fact of compliance costs for small business. 
When members look at regulatory improvement members will see that it is all about productivity. That is what it is about. It is about the better utilisation of resources—all resources: land labour capital and machinery. It is about doing everything that we can do and doing it better. In the Regulatory Improvement Bill we have the previous Minister of Commerce the Hon Lianne Dalziel wanting to do what she can to improve the overall performance of small businesses because of the impact they have on the New Zealand economy and she is to be commended for that. It is about effectiveness efficiency and best practice. 
I found it interesting that out of 10 submissions to the Commerce Committee only three were heard. I found that slightly unusual because I thought there would be more input into such an important bill. Obviously the submissions were of a high quality because that is why this legislation is here. 
It is important to recognise the results of the Quality Regulation Review carried out over 15 months. There was lots of consultation right around the country with stakeholders and a number of small businesses involved. I acknowledge the part played by the Commerce Committee—the members of the committee and the officials. The committee was chaired by the Hon Lianne Dalziel. Its members were John Boscawen Clare Curran Te Ururoa Flavell Raymond Huo Melissa Lee Sam Lotu-Iiga Katrina Shanks and Jonathan Young. I am sure that going by the work that came back from the committee they obviously put a great deal of effort into it and they should be acknowledged for their contribution along with the officials who did a tremendous amount of work in ensuring that this legislation came back to the House in the manner in which it has done. 
I think it is really important that the results of the Quality Regulation Review be read in the debate and I will share them with the House. Just before I do though I want to put a question to the Minister in the chair the Minister for Regulatory Reform. Does he seek any further improvements in regulatory reform; if so what are they? I want to know whether he will continue the reforms that the Hon Lianne Dalziel implemented when she introduced this bill back in September 2008. Let me record in  
Hansard 
 what this bill will do. The Accident Compensation Corporation and the Inland Revenue Department have agreed to improve the coordination of data collection and to share information on businesses. That is fantastic because they are working together in the true sense of the word “community” which means that together we serve together we prosper. Here the Inland Revenue Department the Accident Compensation Corporation and small businesses are all working together to improve things. 
Next the adjustment date for excise and the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand levy paid by the wine industry are now aligned. That is also a plus for small business.