Govt plans to get rid of 'loopy' rules

Paula Bennett Minster of Social Development. Photo / Stuart Munro

Government is giving the public an opportunity to complain about "pedantic" and "unnecessary" regulations including onerous rules for cake stalls and requirements for positioning shower curtains.

Local Government Minister Paula Bennett announced plans this morning for a Rules Reduction Taskforce, which will try to cut unnecessary bureaucracy and scrap "loopy" local and central government regulations.

"We've seen rules and regulations brought in over decades that were well-intentioned but end up being confusing, onerous and costly while failing to deliver any real benefit for the property owner or the wider public," says Mrs Bennett.

She added: "We have rules dictating all sorts of weird and wonderful things from signage over cake stalls to where your shower curtains need to be positioned.

"In another example, a property owner trying to replace a 130 year old fence discovered some of it was on a scenic reserve and they faced having to buy or lease the land."

A website will be created to allow the public to submit rules that were "ripe for change".

The taskforce, which would include tradespeople and building experts, would consider whether the rules could be eliminated.

Mrs Bennett said it was only a six-person board, and was not adding bureaucracy to reduce bureaucracy.