Prebble Richard: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Prebble Richard: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8026] 
2.  
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (Leader—ACT NZ) 
 to the  
Minister for Small Business 
: As the Business NZ - KPMG Compliance Cost Survey reveals only three of the 760 New Zealand businesses surveyed say that compliance costs have not increased under this Government and identifies health and safety tax employment relations and ACC as having the largest increase in compliance costs and given the Government has legislated in each of these areas what if anything will it do to reverse this trend of increasing compliance costs for business? 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE (Minister for Small Business) 
: 
 Firstly I would like to thank Business New Zealand for providing some significant information in helping this Government on the way through compliance cost issues. Secondly if the member had read the report a little more carefully he would have seen that in the vast majority of areas questioned—in fact 13 out of the 18—up to 80 percent of respondents actually said that compliance costs had either not changed or decreased. I welcome all feedback from business on compliance costs and also welcome people to read the document carefully. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Would the Minister care to clarify that if I read to him: “It is clear that recent changes to employment legislation particularly HSE has had a dramatic impact on reordering the issues of priority likely changes to the Holidays Act and the Employment Relations Act and possible moves on pay equity will only continue this trend”; given that what is this Minister doing about it? 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE 
: I respectfully refer the member to table 22 on page 31 of the report. 
Mark Peck 
: What other steps have been taken by this Government to reduce compliance costs? 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE 
: As I have previously told this House this Government has shown great dedication to reducing compliance costs. For example we are implementing over 80 percent of the recommendations of the business compliance-cost panel which represents at least 95 percent of potential benefits for compliance-cost reduction. After a careful review of the last 12 years of Government in this country in the last 3 years under this Government we have achieved more in the tax simplification area with regard to debt and hardship provisions use-of-money interest provisions and adjustments to trading stock and have made business a lot better placed and easier to conduct in this country. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: When numerous surveys this year—including the  
Economic Freedom of the World: 2003 Annual Report 
 the National Bank small-business monitor the Auckland Chamber of Commerce red-tape register survey and now the Business NZ - KPMG Compliance Cost Survey—all tell of business compliance costs and regulatory creep being an increasing problem under this Government why does the Minister continue to deny that this Government has burdened the business community with more red tape and compliance costs? 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE 
: We have never denied that compliance and regulations are issues with business. There is no country in the world that does not have a compliance and regulatory regime. The 2003  
Index of Economic Freedom 
 published by the Heritage Foundation a right-wing organisation and the  
Wall Street Journal 
 describe New Zealand’s regulatory regime as relatively light and transparent and have commented that it is easy to establish a business in New Zealand. However more important the  
Index 
of Economic Freedom 
 ranked New Zealand third in the world a position that has improved since 1998. Australia one of our biggest trading partners ranked ninth. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Does the Minister find it ironic that the Business NZ - KPMG survey indicates that the very employee stress that his Government tried to legislate out of existence has merely been transferred on to small-business employers thus inhibiting their productivity efficiency and business growth and who would he suggest that stressed employers now turn to? 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE 
: I do not find it an irony at all. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: How does the Minister reconcile his statements to the House today that the Government’s Employment Relations Act has not increased compliance costs with the fact that he voted against Margaret Wilson’s proposals which were recently taken to Cabinet to allow employers to take union fees off people who do not belong to the union; to change “unjustified dismissal” to “unfair dismissal”; and to introduce the provision whereby an employer who wins a tender has to take over the employees of the firm that lost? Why did he vote against all of that if he says that compliance costs are not a problem? 
Hon JOHN TAMIHERE 
: I do not know where the member gets his information from but as usual it is wrong wrong and wrong.