The Page Research Centre, in collaboration with Adept Economics, has unveiled a landmark audit exposing the staggering scale of red, green, and black tape burdening Australia’s primary and secondary industries. This comprehensive report shines a spotlight on the bureaucratic hurdles stifling productivity, job creation, and economic growth across the nation.
Key Findings from the Report:
- Overlapping Regulatory Frameworks: Regional businesses are ensnared in a web of up to 90 state and 37 federal regulations, with environmental guidelines alone running into millions of words. Queensland’s environmental regulations total 2.73 million words, compared to 2.21 million in Victoria and 1.49 million in New South Wales.
- Economic Impact of Delays:
- The $492 million McPhillamys Gold Project, which could create 788 jobs, faces years-long delays due to environmental and Indigenous heritage concerns, with potential postponements extending up to a decade.
- Legal challenges to the Santos Barossa gas project cost $1 million per day, underlining the economic toll of prolonged litigation.
- Taxation Pressures:
- Australia’s wine industry, taxed at 29% of wholesale value under the Wine Equalisation Tax (WET), is the highest-taxed globally, driving up prices for consumers and hurting global competitiveness.
- Queensland’s 2022 coal royalty hike prompted Glencore to cancel its $2 billion Valeria coal project, costing 1,250 operational jobs.
- Legal Activism (Green Lawfare): An annual $65 billion worth of investment is jeopardized by legal activism, delaying critical projects and eroding investor confidence.
- Small Business Challenges: Nearly 97.5% of regional businesses are small enterprises struggling to navigate complex planning, zoning, and administrative regulations that stymie innovation and growth.
- Revenue and Job Losses: The live sheep export ban threatens a $77 million industry, disproportionately impacting Western Australian farmers and associated jobs.
Implications for Everyday Australians:
- Price Increases: High taxes and compliance costs are passed to consumers, increasing the prices of everyday goods like wine.
- Job Losses: Delays and cancellations in projects mean fewer local job opportunities.
- Economic Risks: Overregulation threatens industries critical to Australia’s economy, such as agriculture, mining, and tourism, risking long-term economic growth.
High-Level Recommendations:
- Streamline Regulations: Reduce the overlap between federal, state, and local regulations to simplify compliance and lower costs.
- Reassess ESG Mandates: Align Australia’s ESG policies with emerging trends away from strict mandates to maintain global competitiveness.
- Revise Tax and Royalty Structures: Ensure taxation policies incentivize investment and economic growth.
- Remove Public Funding for Environmental Defenders Offices: Eliminate funding for organizations engaging in lawfare that unreasonably delay economically beneficial projects in regional Australia.
- Abolish Queensland’s Additional Coal Royalties: Restore Australia’s reputation for reliable policy settings by removing the extra coal royalty tiers introduced in 2022.