Saxon Davidson Discussing Record High Red Tape On 2CC Breakfast – 7 November 2023

The Institute of Public Affairs’ record levels of red tape generated by state and federal government and its effects on the economic potential of Australia, was discussed on 2CC Breakfast on 7 November 2023.

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Below is a transcript of the interview.

Stephen Cenatiempo:

Now, this shouldn’t surprise anybody, that red tape at a federal level has increased by 88% since 2005. It is now at record highs. This is according to the earliest available data. It’s grown at a rate of two thirds greater than the overall growth in the national economy since that time. Goodness me. IPA Research Fellow, Saxon Davidson, joins us to talk about this. G’day, Saxon.

Saxon Davidson:

Good morning, Stephen. Thank you for having me.

Stephen Cenatiempo:

This probably shouldn’t come a surprise to anybody. I guess the question is, how do we change it?

Saxon Davidson:

Well, our research report brings 10 recommendations for policymaking. Red tape are rules and regulations which go beyond minimally effective regulation, more or less. And this is why we believe most strongly that we should reintroduce parliamentary repeal days, whereby state and federal parliament sit for two days each year to exclusively repeal or abolish legislation and regulations that are not fit for purpose, outdated, or simply bad. This was done very effectively between the years of around 2013 to 2015, and it was actually very effective. It had decreased by about 11% in the space of just around two years.

Stephen Cenatiempo:

So, what are the likelihood of that? Because I mean, it was the old Kerry Packer theory, that if you’re going to introduce a new law, you should get rid of 10 old ones. Government seem to be a bit reluctant to do that. I mean, the previous government did, early on, have that big repeal session, but we haven’t seen any, I guess, appetite to actually really revamp our legal code.

Saxon Davidson:

No, we haven’t. The Kerry Packer theory was actually enacted with a one in two out system in the United States in the backend of the 2010s, and it was very successful considering that around 2016 the US was more regulatory than it had ever been, and they actually were able to cut it back quite substantially. So we know that deregulatory reform works, and it’s for the benefit of all Australians that we go through deregulatory reform. The costs of red tape are quite huge. $176 billion annually, according to previous economic analysis that we have done. And this is not the type of figure that people will be thinking about at the dinner table or at the breakfast table this morning, but this goes into the cost of your groceries, the cost of your fuel, and the cost of your housing as well.

Stephen Cenatiempo:

Yeah, okay. All right. Were any of the states, because that’s federally, but the states are also got to aim up on this as well. Who’s worse than the others?

Saxon Davidson:

So Victoria has grown at a rate almost twice as high as half the states in the country. They’ve grown at a rate of nearly 5%, whereas Queensland have grown at a rate of 2.2. South Australia, 1.8, and WA around one. Just behind Victoria is Tasmania at 4.7, and New South Wales at 3.5% increase since just 2019.

Stephen Cenatiempo:

It probably doesn’t surprise anybody that Queensland’s performing worse. Saxon, I appreciate your time this morning.

Saxon Davidson:

Thank you for having me.

Stephen Cenatiempo:

Good on you, mate. Saxon Davidson is a research fellow at the Institute for Public Affairs.

This transcript from 2CC Breakfast from 8 November 2023 has been edited for clarity.