1. Bureaucracy gone mad
Russell Grenning
The Federal Governmentishardat itcuttingred tape and notbefore time,of course,butat leasta
start has beenmade.
There was,apparently,muchrejoicingon18March thisyear – the thirdRedTape Repeal Day since
the AbbottGovernmentcame tooffice – whenthe ParliamentarySecretarytothe Prime Minister
ChristianPorterannouncedthata further890 Acts of Parliamentand160 LegislativeInstruments
were tobe scrapped.
Accordingto Mr Porter,“We are instituting a cultural shiftin thinking aboutregulation” and
“Deregulation units – tasked withthe identifying and driving red tapereduction acrossthe
Commonwealth –nowexistin every portfolio.”
Mr Porter,incidentally,wasWesternAustraliaTreasurerbeforehe quitState Parliamentjustbefore
the last election. Idon’tdoubthissincerityalthoughIdonote that Deloitte’s,the top-tiereconomics
consultancy,reportedlastOctoberthatself-imposedredtape wascostingWA $37 billionayear.
Yes,theyhave a red tape reductionoutfit soIwonderwhat happenedunderMr Porter’swatch.
Agriculture MinisterBarnabyJoyce isa bigfan of red tape reductionandhe joinedMr Porterlast
March 18 to trumpetthe Government’sachievementsandwentonto saythat he welcomed
suggestionsabout“...how theGovernmentcan help cut red tape...”.
So,off I wentto hisDepartmenttocheck on progress.
In earlyJune itissuedmemoentitled,“Vegetables –Re-imported Australian fresh vegetables”. What
an eye-openerthatwas althoughitdidn’texplainwhyanybody,havingexportedtheirAustralian
vegieswouldwanttobringthemback.But, justincase,the Departmenthasthis possibility covered.
Thisclear andunambiguousmemostated, “Theinformation herecoversDepartment of Agriculture
quarantinerequirementsonly and iscurrent on the dateof transmission butmay changewithout
notice.Departmentof Agriculture makesno warrantiesorrepresentationswith respectto the
accuracy of completenessof thatinformation and will bearno liability with respect to that
information.”Well,I’msure thatitwasclear andunambiguoustothe WorkingPartyor Standing
Committee orAdHoc StrategicIssuesImplementationandAssessmentGrouporwhoeverelse
draftedit.
In EnglishIthink that meansthatthe Departmentmore orlessthinksthatwhattheyhave provided
ismore or lessupto date althoughitcouldhave changedand theycan’t be sure and don’ttry and
quote us.
Justto underline that,“TheCommonwealth through theDepartmentof Agricultureis notliable for
any costsarising fromor associated with decisionsof importersto importbased on conditions
presented here which are notcurrent atthe time of importation.” InEnglish,thatmeansimporters
are on theirownandtoo bloodybadif theygetit wrong.

2. Naturally,since we are talkingaboutAustralianproducedfreshvegetableswhichforsome obscure
reasonsare beingboughtback home,the Departmenthasa quickandeasyway to getpermission.
“It is the importer’sresponsibilityto identify and to ensure it hascomplied with all requirementsof
any otherregulatory and advisory bodiespriorto and after importation including theAustralian
Customsand BorderProtection Service,TherapeuticGoodsAdministration,Departmentof Health
and Ageing,Departmentof Sustainability,Environment,Water,Population and Communities,
Australian Pesticidesand Veterinary MedicinesAuthority and any Stateagenciessuch as
Departmentsof Agricultureand Health and EnvironmentalProtection authorities.”
Andif that is notenough, “Importersshould notethatthislist is notexhaustive,”the memonotes.
Thoughtfully,theygoonto pointoutthat importersmustcomplywith “Condition C9303”, “Entry
ManagementEM0184”, “Entry ManagementEM0185, “TreatmentT9902” and, of course
“QuarantineRegulations2000 (examplesincludea QuarantineEntry or a Quarantinedeclaration.”
Andimportersof Australianfreshvegetablesnotwanted byungrateful foreigners “mustcomply with
the Imported Food Act1992, an Actwhich is administered by the Departmentof Agriculture.”
If you wantsome publicservanttohelpyouout on whatI thinkisonlyone sectionof thisred-tape
nightmare, “Thefee rate is $120.00 an hour(forany assessmentperiod up to onehour) and $40.00
foreach quarterhour,orpart of a quarterhour,afterthe1-hourperiod. Note thatin addition to the
assessmentfee,an electronic lodgementfeeof $125.00 or a manuallodgementfeeof $225.00
applies.”
Andevenif all these proceduresweresuccessfullyaddressed,wouldthe re-importedAustralian
vegetablesstill be fresh?I’dbe temptedtoleave the bloodylotonthe wharf inSingapore or
whereverwithanote attached, “Takeit – it’s free.”
Giventhatthe processthatallowedthe creationof thisdocumentsurvivedthe Department’sown
DeregulationUnit, youshouldrememberthatlongjourneysbeginwithasingle step.
Now,whenall of the red tape isscrappedperhapsthe Governmentcouldintroduce intoevery
portfolioPlainSpeakingUnitswhichcouldvetmemosandotherdocuments? Now thatwould
provide the Governmentwithaverymeaningful legacy.