IPA Urges Special Economic Zones To Assist Bushfire Recovery As New Poll Finds Australia Has Too Much Red Tape

This comes as Andrew Colvin the former Australian Federal Police commissioner appointed to lead the newly-created National Bushfire Recovery Agency has publicly acknowledged the potential of red tape to delay recovery.

“In the wake of the 2009 Victorian bushfires, which destroyed more even more homes than have been lost in the last month, homeowners were left waiting for permission from local and state government to rebuild houses which had been lost five years earlier,” said John Roskam, Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs.

“This red tape should be done away with to assist with bushfire recovery,” said Mr Roskam.

This comes as new polling by Dynata of 1,016 Australians from 6-8 December 2019, commissioned by free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs released today, finds:

• 58 per cent of Australians believe Australia has too much red tape.
• 64 per cent of Australians believe unelected bureaucrats have too much control over our lives.

Mr Roskam said, “Hazard reduction and fuel loads are clearly the primary issue in the spread of bushfires.”

“The approach that prevails across all levels of government in this country in relation to the management of public land is that it should all be but locked up from human use. The focus has to be protecting people not just trees.”

“Native Vegetation Laws in Australia need to be completely overhauled to empower property owners,” said Mr Roskam.

“This polling confirms Australia is in a red tape crisis,” said IPA Director of Research Daniel Wild.

“The Federal Government has made a good start on cutting red tape, but must engage in deeper and structural reductions to regulation in 2020 to boost business investment, small business creation, and employment growth,” said Mr Wild.

Download polling research here.