Red tape costs the Australian economy as much as $176 billion a year. Governments create and enforce thousands of regulations on our workplaces and our communities. These rules slow and prevent businesses forming, people from flourishing, new technologies from being adopted, and hold back Australia’s global competitiveness.
Australia’s Red Tape Crisis is an exploration into the economics, politics and culture of over-regulation. How should we structure our federation to achieve reform? Why should political responsibility sit with the elected? Does Australia have a deep desire for a federal bureaucracy? What is the future of red tape reduction policies?
Together, the contributions of economists, philosophers, politicians and lawyers help define a path for overcoming Australia’s red tape crisis.
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM:
Darcy ALLEN, Chris BERG, Andrew BUSHNELL, William COLEMAN, Sinclair DAVIDSON, Ashton DE SILVA, Georgina DOWNER, David KEMP, Aaron LANE, Matthew LESH, Greg MELLEUISH, Michael POTTER, Daniel WILD
Contents
Introduction
Darcy Allen and Chris Berg
Part one: The economics and politics of red tape
1 Regulation in a small open economy -- Chris Berg
2 The big picture -- David Kemp
3 Australia’s economic malaise -- Michael Potter
4 Some (micro)economics of regulation -- Sinclair Davidson
5 The politics of red tape --Georgina Downer
Part two: Red tape: History and culture
6 A regulatory culture? -- Matthew Lesh
7 1901: Federation as bureaucratisation -- William Coleman
8 Red tape: Tethering Australia to the world -- Greg Melleuish
Part three: Case studies
9 Environmental regulation and red tape -- Daniel Wild
10 Housing affordability and red tape -- Ashton de Silva
11 Over-criminalisation and red tape -- Andrew Bushnell
12 Over-regulation in public sector services -- Aaron M. Lane
13 Red tape reduction: A new approach -- Darcy Allen
14 Regulation and technological change -- Darcy Allen and Chris Berg
References
Authors
