Budget 2006: Pledge To Clear Away Red-tape hurdles

The Government will conduct a review of business regulation, focusing on the views of business owners.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen announced the review in his Budget address, with more details to be given on Monday.

Led by Commerce and Small Business Minister Lianne Dalziel, the review would look at issues of regulation that might unnecessarily constrain business development and economic transformation, Cullen said.

"One of the planks of the economic transformation is ensuring that we have a regulatory environment that is appropriate to New Zealand's unique identity as a small, dynamic economy distant from its markets," Cullen said.

"This Government intends to get down to the level of business owners to assess the real issues that are constraining their development and frustrating their day-to-day operations."

In particular, it will focus on:

* Issues arising from the way rules are implemented and the interaction between the various regulatory frameworks.

* The compliance and regulatory issues facing different sectors to identify how best to assist those that contribute to economic growth.

* Ways to strengthen the regulation-design process to ensure the new rules are robust and responsive.

"The review signals the Government's commitment to a regulatory environment that promotes economic growth, business confidence, globally competitive firms and social wellbeing," said Cullen.

Alasdair Thompson, chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern), said he was concerned that the review would bring "more unnecessary intervention and heavy-handed intervention".

However, he said he would like to see the review focus on competition issues. Local companies which had overseas competitors should be given more leeway to acquire local competitors so they had sufficient scale to compete internationally.