Summarised by Centrist
Regulation and red tape have long been identified as significant drags on New Zealand’s economic performance, and David Seymour’s proposed Ministry of Regulation aims to address these issues by streamlining government processes and enhancing efficiency.
“Seymour’s Ministry of Regulation will be ACT’s greatest legacy – Radio NZ is talking garbage trying to paint it as a money wasting hypocrisy,” writes economist Robert MacCulloch.
According to MacCulloch, excessive regulations have cost New Zealand far more than they have benefited the country, with councils frequently implementing projects without proper cost-benefit analyses.
The new Ministry of Regulation, as championed by Seymour and the ACT Party, seeks to remedy this by employing a small team of highly specialised experts to ensure that regulations are justified and economically beneficial. “This can only be done by changing the way we approach regulation, and Seymour’s Ministry is the right step,” MacCulloch argues.
Critics, including Labour leader Chris Hipkins, have accused the initiative of being hypocritical amidst public sector downsizing. However, MacCulloch counters, “Where’s the hypocrisy in laying off the thousands of people who Hipkins hired to ‘work’ from home, and replacing them with 90 highly skilled folks to create efficiencies in the economy?”
He also draws parallels with the US Office for Information and Regulatory Affairs, which successfully performs similar tasks, underscoring the potential impact of Seymour’s Ministry on New Zealand’s future.
