Coalition to overhaul firb and cut red tape to boost productivity
An elected Dutton Government will establish a taskforce to overhaul Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and task the Productivity Commission with an annual stock take of regulation as part of the Coalition’s whole-of-economy productivity plan.
The Hon Angus Taylor MP
Shadow Treasurer
An elected Dutton Government will establish a taskforce to overhaul Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and task the Productivity Commission with an annual stock take of regulation as part of the Coalition’s whole-of-economy productivity plan.
Since Labor took office, labour productivity has collapsed by 6%. This means Australians are now working 6% harder just to maintain their standard of living. This puts us amongst the worst performers in the OECD.
This is simply not good enough. Productivity and better government are essential to strong economic management. Without productivity, we cannot manage the economy well and will not sustainably beat inflation.
This is why the Coalition will embed a whole-of-economy productivity target in its economic and fiscal strategy, seeking to return productivity to its historical level over time.
Labor’s downgraded productivity target of 1.2% gives up the ghost and abandons the hope of restoring this potential.
The only way to boost productivity is to boost investment.
Today Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor announced two new reforms that support investment and innovation.
Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) white list for trusted investors
The Coalition will commission a taskforce to design a white list process for trusted investors from our Quad, Five Eyes, and AUKUS partners who always have and will continue to play a crucial role in Australia’s economy.
The goal is to reduce the volume of paperwork, increase the pace of decisions, and the number of times trusted partners need to go through the process, and pay the fees which are increasingly being used as a revenue source rather than genuine cost recovery.
Foreign investment screening remains an important process and rigorous national security checks will stay in place.
This is about smarter screening, not weaker oversight – a faster yes and a faster no – ensuring we focus resources where they are needed most while fast-tracking responsible investment.
Our end goal is simple: if you are an investor with a clean bill of health and a strong track record from a trusted partner nation, approvals will be faster, easier, and more predictable because investment certainty drives jobs, growth and will lead to greater productivity gains.
Productivity Commission Regulatory Stocktake
As part of the Coalition’s commitment to efficient government, we will task the Productivity Commission with an annual stocktake of regulation.
Compliance costs for some listed companies now exceed $1 billion. This is a hidden tax on consumers every time they open a bank account, buy a share or apply for a loan.
It’s also a chokehold on innovation, with compliance staff increasingly eating up the workforce of our major companies.
The Productivity Commission’s annual stocktake will hold regulators and legislators accountable for the economic costs of regulation and legislation, will identify the cost of regulation to the economy and set clear rankings and prioritisation of legislative reform to wind back our most damaging laws and regulations.
This will be an annual process, modelled off the Trade and Assistance Review.
This work will inform the return of the red tape repeal days to ensure we are reducing the stock of legislation and have an accountability mechanism for regulators for the second order impacts of laws.
This is a structural change that will support ongoing deregulation across the economy providing both the Federal Government but also National Cabinet with a consistent north star in our efforts to reduce the regulatory burden on business and consumers, and drive a more investment friendly economy.
We cannot ease cost-of-living pressures without restoring productivity. The only way forward is back to basics economic management. That is how we will get Australia back on track.
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