On 12 December 2005 the National Press club hosted a forum on regulatory reform.

The forum discussions were led by:

• Gary Banks, Chairman, Productivity Commission
• Steven Munchenberg, Deputy Chief Executive, Business Council of Australia
• Alan Oster, Chief Economist, National Australia Bank
• Senator Michael Ronaldson
• Wayne Swan, Shadow Treasurer.

In his comments, BCA Deputy Chief Executive Steven Munchenberg spoke about the everyday impacts of government regulation, how red tape is adding a dead weight on business in Australia, and how it is hampering Australia’s competitiveness.

Some of the reasons he identified included the:

• interaction between laws
• constantly changing laws
• multiple and uncoordinated approval processes
• a lack of delineation between the roles of different regulators
• the perverse consequences of their ‘zero tolerance’ attitudes.

Steven Munchenberg called for the introduction of regulatory impact statements and more consultation between regulators and businesses to help address those problems.