Nick Clark: Fast-Tracking the Fast-Track Bill

On Monday morning, Eric Crampton and I appeared before the Environment Select Committee to present the Initiative’s submission on the Fast-Track Approvals Amendment Bill.

It is well known that the Bill, and the fast-track regime more generally, is controversial among environmentalists. Our concerns are more about process, but they are no less important.

Bryce Wilkinson: The background to "Passing a Regulatory Standards Act as soon as is practicable"

The Coalition Agreement between National and ACT includes a commitment to pass the “Regulatory Standards Act as soon as practicable”.

How fast is that? What is it, what does it do, and what might its passing mean?

Brian Easton: Do We Want A Regulatory Standards Act?

The ACT party election manifesto will propose to introduce a Regulatory Standards Act to set a higher bar for new regulation, and test regulations against the key principles of the Regulatory Standards Act.

To make my position clear I have had doubts, going back to Muldoon’s time in the 1970s, about the casual way we introduce regulations. Since then we have made a number of improvements to how they are introduced. But I am uneasy about the proposed legislation; at the very least, I think it requires a wide public debate before it is enacted.