Latest news with #ChifleyResearchCentre
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
How red tape removal became a progressive rallying cry
Conservative politicians often make hay with calls to slash red tape and limit the ever-expanding reach of big government bureaucracy. But progressive politicians who care about housing affordability, the clean energy transition and encouraging quality research should likewise have over-regulation in their sights, argues Labor MP Andrew Leigh. Despite being a rich society, a quiet accumulation of obstacles has prevented Australia providing its citizens' basic needs, the federal assistant minister for charities, competition, treasury and now productivity says. Take, for example, Dr Leigh's home town of Canberra. Faced with insufficient housing supply and rising unaffordability, the ACT government introduced a new planning system in 2023, intended to improve flexibility and clarity. But greater flexibility meant greater complexity, more documentation requirements and slower approval timelines. Building consents more than halved. Whereas, in the mid 1960s, when the national capital was being developed at "breath-taking" speed, 2400 new homes were being built on average each year. In 2024, only 2180 new dwellings were greenlit in the ACT. The go-slow in approvals pathways is not confined to housing, with clean energy projects suffering from delay and deferral and stifling administration in the university sector holding back great Australian minds from realising world-changing research. Slow, fragmented, and over-engineered systems are making it harder to get approval for the things Australia needs. "And the consequences are visible everywhere - from rising rents and overcrowding, to the growing number of people priced out of the communities they grew up in," Dr Leigh will tell the Chifley Research Centre in Melbourne on Tuesday. His speech, influenced by the work of US journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, calls for Australia to adopt an "abundance agenda": for a progressive supply-side push to fix falling productivity and meet the nation's needs. "The abundance agenda isn't about building without limits. It's about removing the limits that no longer serve us," he says. "Ambition without capability leads to frustration. Vision without delivery erodes trust. If we want the next decade to be one of shared prosperity and real progress, we have to be able to build." The solution is not just to slash red tape and remove systems that are designed to keep risk in check. Public institutions too often lack the capability to evaluate risks, make bold decisions, and stick to timelines. Upskilling them is essential. "One reason for over-regulation is fear - of failure, of blame, of reputational damage," Dr Leigh says. "The result is systems that push decisions upward, delay risk, and rely on external consultants to validate internal judgment. "Reversing this trend won't happen overnight. But it starts with institutions that are trusted to act - not just to review, approve and regulate, but to enable."
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
How red tape removal became a progressive rallying cry
Conservative politicians often make hay with calls to slash red tape and limit the ever-expanding reach of big government bureaucracy. But progressive politicians who care about housing affordability, the clean energy transition and encouraging quality research should likewise have over-regulation in their sights, argues Labor MP Andrew Leigh. Despite being a rich society, a quiet accumulation of obstacles has prevented Australia providing its citizens' basic needs, the federal assistant minister for charities, competition, treasury and now productivity says. Take, for example, Dr Leigh's home town of Canberra. Faced with insufficient housing supply and rising unaffordability, the ACT government introduced a new planning system in 2023, intended to improve flexibility and clarity. But greater flexibility meant greater complexity, more documentation requirements and slower approval timelines. Building consents more than halved. Whereas, in the mid 1960s, when the national capital was being developed at "breath-taking" speed, 2400 new homes were being built on average each year. In 2024, only 2180 new dwellings were greenlit in the ACT. The go-slow in approvals pathways is not confined to housing, with clean energy projects suffering from delay and deferral and stifling administration in the university sector holding back great Australian minds from realising world-changing research. Slow, fragmented, and over-engineered systems are making it harder to get approval for the things Australia needs. "And the consequences are visible everywhere - from rising rents and overcrowding, to the growing number of people priced out of the communities they grew up in," Dr Leigh will tell the Chifley Research Centre in Melbourne on Tuesday. His speech, influenced by the work of US journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, calls for Australia to adopt an "abundance agenda": for a progressive supply-side push to fix falling productivity and meet the nation's needs. "The abundance agenda isn't about building without limits. It's about removing the limits that no longer serve us," he says. "Ambition without capability leads to frustration. Vision without delivery erodes trust. If we want the next decade to be one of shared prosperity and real progress, we have to be able to build." The solution is not just to slash red tape and remove systems that are designed to keep risk in check. Public institutions too often lack the capability to evaluate risks, make bold decisions, and stick to timelines. Upskilling them is essential. "One reason for over-regulation is fear - of failure, of blame, of reputational damage," Dr Leigh says. "The result is systems that push decisions upward, delay risk, and rely on external consultants to validate internal judgment. "Reversing this trend won't happen overnight. But it starts with institutions that are trusted to act - not just to review, approve and regulate, but to enable."
Perth Now
22-04-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Pledge to end ‘weaponised' act against women
Labor will push to end financial abuse perpetrated by domestic and family violence abusers by reforming loopholes in the tax, social security and superannuation systems. If re-elected, Labor promised to introduce new laws which would stop perpetrators from accessing a victim's superannuation, plus reforms to the tax and corporate systems to ensure victim survivors are not held responsible for debts which were created in their name. Abusers would also be held liable for any social security debts which were incurred through coercion or financial abuse. Minister for Women Katy Gallagher announced the policy commitments at a Melbourne event held at the QV Women's Centre highlighting 'Labor's commitment to women'. 'We will take action to legislate practical changes in the superannuation, tax and social security systems so they cannot be weaponised by perpetrators,' she told the event which was hosted by progressive think tank Per Capita and the Chifley Research Centre on Tuesday. 'We will look at how we can stop abusers receiving their victim's superannuation – because there is no world where we believe that perpetrators of violence should benefit from the death of someone they themselves have abused.' Minister for Women Katy Gallagher pledged a re-elected Labor government would implement new laws to stop perpetrators from carrying out financial abuse through tax, superannuation and social security systems. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Labor will also commit an extra $8.6m funding for the Innovative Perpetrator Responses Fund to boost electronic monitoring and intensive behaviour change programs which are delivered by state and territory governments. 'This announcement stems directly from the national cabinet discussion to establish new, world first policing approaches to stop deaths from domestic violence,' she said. 'It also complements the work we have already started such as pilots using focused deterrence, as well as domestic violence threat assessment centres as two new ways of identifying and dealing with perpetrators that pose the highest risk,' she said. 'We recognise that there is still much to do, and Labor remains fiercely determined to meet the commitment and promise of the National Plan to end violence against women and children in a generation.' The announcement comes as Peter Dutton on Monday committed to announcing further domestic violence initiatives. 'The whole area of protecting women and children is incredibly important to me,' the Opposition Leader said. 'What we know out of the research is that an estimated 37 per cent of women, aged 16 and over experience, sexual assault when they were a child.' 'That is a horrific statistic.' Peter Dutton has also flagged further policy announcements to combat domestic and family violence. iStock Credit: Supplied The pledge follows latest Newspoll results which showed the Coalition failing to appeal to female voters. The polling, conducted exclusively for The Australian, found the Opposition trailing Labor 33 to 35 per cent on the female vote, with support for the Coalition dropping five points since March 26 – just two days before Anthony Albanese called the May 3 election. Senator Gallagher's speech also highlighted what she said was the 'contrast' between Labor and the Coalition on issues related to 'women and gender equality,' saying it 'really couldn't be more stark'. In her attack, she highlighted the Coalition's opposition to Labor's cost-of-living and pledge to give most households access to three days of subsidised childcare, and said the Opposition Leader had yet to announce policies to reduce domestic violence. 'He talks a big game about protecting women and children, but has never explained how he'd actually do this, or demonstrated any understanding of the complex factors that drive violence against women,' she said.
