Business Compliance Costs Panel Meets - 1 February 2001
[ Last Updated 20 February 2006 ]
Media Statement from Hon Paul Swain, Minister of Commerce
1 February 2001
The members of the Ministerial Panel on Business Compliance Costs are meeting today for the first time.
The panel was appointed by the government late last year.
"Originally the panel was to be appointed this year," Commerce Minister Paul Swain said.
"But demand from business to get cracking on business compliance cost issues drove us to bring the timetable forward," he said.
"The role of the panel will be to identify the various compliance costs that affect business and to provide advice to the government on ways to reduce them.
"The government's aim is to reduce the amount of time business people spend dealing with government, so they can get on with what they do best – business.
"The panel will be the mouthpiece for business to government on priorities for compliance cost reduction.
"It is one of four key compliance cost reduction initiatives - the three others are:
- The establishment of test panels, made up largely of business people, who will audit the likely compliance costs and assess the workability of new regulations before they are imposed;
- The introduction of a requirement that each new legislative or regulatory proposal be accompanied by a business compliance cost statement, and that these statements be made public;
- A review of the progress that has been made in implementing the recommendations of the Commerce Select Committee’s 1998 Inquiry into compliance costs for business.
"The Business Compliance Costs Panel will report to the Minister of Finance and me by 30 June 2001," Paul Swain said.
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