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468 Ministerial Statements 7 Mar 2013 I am also looking forward to hosting an event in celebration of this important day in my electorate of Ashgrove tomorrow with local small businesswomen. In particular, I thank Raewyn Bailey, indeed a prominent businesswoman in this state in the HR field, for agreeing to be the guest speaker and to inspire many of the women I have asked to come along. Madam Speaker, International Women’s Day is marked on 8 March every year. I note that you are having a function tomorrow and I note that many members of our team are attending the UNIFEM breakfast at the convention centre. I indeed welcome all Queenslanders—men and women—to celebrate the achievements of women everywhere. Resource and Regional Town Action Plan Hon. JW SEENEY (Callide—LNP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning) (10.06 am): Our government is committed to developing Queensland’s strengths in tourism, agriculture, resources and construction. This includes cutting red tape and regulation and speeding up project approvals for business to help Queensland’s economy grow and to create jobs. A significant part of cutting red tape and regulation is the raft of planning reforms currently underway to simplify and clarify the planning framework to make planning and development across Queensland more effective and more responsive. These reforms include changing the Sustainable Planning Act 2009 to make it the most cost-efficient, time-effective planning framework in Australia; developing a single state planning policy to establish a new approach to state planning policies that simplifies and clarifies the state interest; establishing a single state assessment and referral agency to streamline and standardise the assessment process; and reviewing the infrastructure charges framework to introduce a well balanced framework that is equitable, transparent and fair. However, some communities are dealing with localised issues, particularly in relation to the mining boom, which require specific short-term actions. This includes the current lack of housing affordability, pressure on local governments to assess an increased number of development applications in a timely manner, infrastructure costs and delays, and the availability of land for development. The Resource and Regional Town Action Plan has been prepared by the Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning to address these issues to identify short-term initiatives and on-the-ground projects which can be underway in the next 12 to 24 months and to respond to these local issues while at the same time complementing the planning reforms underway. I table for the benefit of the House a copy of that action plan. Tabled paper: Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning—Regional and Resource Towns Action Plan, March 2013 [2200]. The action plan targets specific regional cities and towns across Queensland that are critical to the resources industry and focuses on the issues and concerns raised through consultation with stakeholders and local councils in those cities and towns. Workshops were held in Dalby, Roma, Mount Isa, Emerald, Toowoomba, Cairns, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Moranbah and Mackay. The workshops targeted a range of stakeholders with essential roles in the development industry, including local and state government representatives and town planners, builders and developers. The information and ideas gathered at these workshops have been used to inform the action plan that I tabled for the benefit of members today. In the action plan the outcomes are divided into two sections: issues and responses that were common across the resource communities and issues and responses that were specific to a particular community. The action plan is presented for local governments to consider and it provides a basis for agreeing on a list of key actions to be implemented over the coming 12 to 24 months. This resource towns action plan will contribute to ensure that our mining towns provide access to great jobs, a great lifestyle and provide great services into the future. Office of Best Practice Regulation Hon. TJ NICHOLLS (Clayfield—LNP) (Treasurer and Minister for Trade) (10.09 am): Prior to the last election this government made a commitment to reduce red tape and regulation by 20 per cent. Why did we do that? Because we knew that business in Queensland was struggling to cope with the increasing weight of regulation being introduced by the previous Labor government, which was stifling investment and development. As part of that commitment the government has established the Office of Best Practice Regulation within the Queensland Competition Authority to routinely run the magnifying glass over existing and proposed regulations.
7 Mar 2013 Ministerial Statements 469 The Office of Best Practice Regulation—or OBPR—delivered its interim report in October last year. It pleases me to inform the House that the government recently received the OBPR’s final report—a report that provides the government with the framework to establish an overarching regulatory management system to, in effect, try to stop the flow. The OBPR will provide an annual update that measures the government’s progress. We are changing the culture of government from one that promotes red tape to one that actively reduces it. Championing this reform agenda is the Assistant Minister for Finance, Administration and Regulatory Reform, Deb Frecklington. The Newman government will consider the OBPR’s final report before formally responding to it, but it has already committed to adopting the majority of the report’s 50 recommendations. The assistant minister will this week release a report card highlighting the Newman government’s progress in its first year. It also details our plans for the next 12 months. For example, when bringing forward any proposal that imposes a new regulation or procedure on small business, ministers will now be required to put forward up to three options to reduce or offset regulatory burdens. A reduction target for each portfolio will also be included in the key performance indicators of directors general. Agencies will also need to seek the Office of Best Practice Regulation’s advice as to whether a regulatory impact statement—or RIS—is required for any regulatory proposal. Unlike those opposite who say one thing and do another, our actions underline our strong commitment to making Queensland an easier and simpler place in which to do business. Since coming to government we have fully implemented more than 150 red-tape reduction reforms. A further 170 reforms are currently underway. Some of these achievements include streamlining the approvals process for all environmentally relevant activities—or ERAs—saving on average $20,000 in application costs, 150 pages of paperwork and 68 days of processing time. From 31 March, more than 9,400 small business operators will now no longer need to apply for a licence or pay an application fee and will no longer need to submit an annual return. These changes will save small businesses more than $6 million in annual fees and will let them get on with what they do best: contributing to a thriving economy and generating jobs. On Tuesday, parliament voted to remove the Bligh government’s waste levy—a $373 million tax on Queensland businesses. And, of course, one of the biggest reforms has been to increase the payroll tax exemption threshold to $1.1 million this financial year, increasing over six years. The payroll tax cut will increase job security, allowing small businesses to retain workers rather than lay them off. The member for Nanango has been working tirelessly in this space to ensure that all ministers work together to ensure that this great state is a great state with great opportunity and an attractive place in which to live, work and do business. Bus Services Hon. SA EMERSON (Indooroopilly—LNP) (Minister for Transport and Main Roads) (10.13 am): The Newman government is committed to improving the affordability, reliability and frequency of public transport. In line with that commitment, today I will release the outcome of the South-East Queensland bus network review. By removing duplication and restructuring poor performing routes, the review recommends a network of 335 routes across South-East Queensland compared to the current 446. Under our plan, there will be more services operating across South-East Queensland than in the final months under Labor. I think most people would be shocked to read this morning that the network that Labor left us had 52 per cent of services carrying seven or fewer people—52 per cent carrying fewer than seven people. Meanwhile, other routes were so full that they were leaving people behind. Labor increased funding by 22 per cent over three years but patronage flatlined. Labor paid for its poor management by increasing fares by 15 per cent year after year, after year, after year, after year. The Newman government has already halved Labor’s planned 15 per cent fare increases for 2013-14, but we want to do more. That is why this bus review is so important. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the thousands of public transport users who provided feedback for the review. The message we received was loud and clear: people wanted a simpler, more frequent bus network. That is what this network plan delivers. In Brisbane, the frequent network will be expanded from the existing 19 BUZ routes to 26 new high-frequency routes that will make up the go network. We will also be introducing these services to the Gold Coast for the very first time. The go network will provide a bus every 15 minutes or better. It will operate from at least 7 am to 7 pm seven days a week. In Brisbane, more than 800,000 people will have access to the go network.
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