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.

As I have previously stated in a speech I gave last month on The Future of Regulation [1], I am interested in how we can use Web 2.0 concepts such as crowd-sourcing and continuous feedback to improve the way we regulate. I am in the early stages of organising a number of government blogging trials with the aim of testing these concepts.  These trials will concentrate on particular areas of regulatory reform and should commence in the New Year. This discussion forum is another toe in the water.

I was very pleased that the recent GAP Congress on Regulatory Affairs [2] also considered how Australia could regulate better.  While I could not participate in the entire Congress, I would invite those who did participate to continue their conversation here.  I would also like to hear from members of the public about your views.

Below are just a few questions to start discussion:

• What lessons can we learn from good regulators?

• How could regulators use technology to regulate better?  What are the barriers to its uptake?

• Do you know of examples where alternative regulatory systems such as self regulation, co‑regulation or standards have delivered better outcomes than a traditional command and control model?

I will be logging in daily next week to participate in the discussion and look forward to talking with you.

Lindsay Tanner is the Minister for Finance and Deregulation and has represented the seat of Melbourne in the House of Representatives since March 1993. Prior to being appointed as a Minister in the Rudd government, Lindsay served as Shadow Minister for Finance and Deregulation and had also held portfolio responsibilities in Consumer Affairs, Transport, Communications and Community Relationships. 

www.financeminister.gov.au [3]

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The BETTER REGULATION forum [3] opens on Thursday, 9 October 2008.

Participation is simple and free. If you aren't already, sign in to become an Open Forum member. Go to The BETTER REGULATION forum [3] page, write your comments, questions and suggestions.

The Hon Lindsay Tanner MP will be personally responding to submissions from Monday, 13 to Friday, 17 October 2008.