The Labour- Alliance Government’s pitiful attempt at tackling compliance costs reveals that it has absolutely no new ideas on how to get business back on track, National’s Compliance Cost spokesperson Warren Kyd said today.

“What’s more, it’s taken the Government nearly a year to even start thinking about the issue, even though it promised firm and immediate action during last year’s campaign.

“As part of its business offensive the Government can only come up with a few stolen ideas from National’s Bright Future package and call them its own.

“The Government’s “Simplicity 2002 “ approach talks about establishing industry specific test panels. But it was last year’s Bright Future package that announced test panels to test how laws will work in practice.

“Paul Swain says putting the real costs of legislation out in the open and giving business a say is a ‘major change in the way government works’. What absolute rubbish!

Mr Kyd said National endeavoured to work with business to streamline and update legislation so it would work with minimal compliance cost outcomes. In 1998 a commerce select committee carried out an inquiry on compliance costs faced by small and medium-sized businesses.

“National made it easier for business to get on with the job. In stark contrast, the Labour-Alliance Government has made doing business increasingly costly. Its short track-record already includes huge costs such as tax hikes and changes to industrial relations and ACC legislation.

“We all know that the Government is desperate to take some goodies to its Business Forum in Auckland next week. Business however can see right through such a desperate and pitiful attempt to try to allay growing frustrations,” Mr Kyd said.

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