Thank you for joining me here to discuss better regulation. 

Earlier this year I visited the UK, Netherlands and the OECD to talk to regulators, business leaders and politicians about how they have been tackling regulatory reform. 

I came back to Australia enthused and full of ideas and insights.  But I also came back with the view that these countries are not so far ahead of us that Australia could not also become a pace‑setter in regulatory reform.

To do this will require new ideas and innovations, including better use of information technology and a commitment to continuous improvement of our regulatory systems. 

Continuous improvement means building better regulation from the bottom up. History provides numerous examples of top down regulation imposed with good intentions but little awareness of unintended consequences and costs. A bottom up approach - the start of which is simply listening to those who are affected by regulation on a day to day basis - can help limit the costs and improve the effectiveness of regulation.