Costly regulation: Straterra Inc CEO Josie Vidal


New Zealand loves to regulate but it doesn’t always get it right and mistakes are costly.

We broadly agree with the sentiment in the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill discussion document, although it sure needs improvement. We agree with the sentiment in the document that bad regulation can stifle innovation and give rise to numerous unintended consequences, and we have examples of that in the minerals sector.

STRATERRA INC CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, JOSIE VIDAL

Innovation is critical to New Zealand’s economic recovery so it is important to have an enabling regulatory environment, not one that blocks innovation every step of the way. We agree with observations that in New Zealand, there is a tendency to use legislation in cases where it is not strictly required, or to address matters already covered in existing legislation, creating confusing duplications. There are also several areas of overlapping regulations, certainly in relation to the minerals sector, where duplication and/or contradictions occur.

These are time and money wasters for everyone. The bill would provide a set of principles for responsible regulation which would act as criteria against which new or existing regulation could be assessed. This makes a lot of sense.

To future proof the bill, our preference would be that changes of government did not alter the legislation, but rather they had the freedom to amend the guidelines. We can’t have a regulatory environment where everything changes every three years; it is too unstable for us as a trading nation reliant on international investment.


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