Better Regulation Choices

| November 3, 2009
Topic of the Month November 2009

Topic of the Month November 2009What happens after the COAG regulation ‘hotspots’ agenda?

What role is there for codes, standards and charters as alternatives to detailed, black-letter regulation?
 
Throughout November 2009, with the support of Standards Australia, Better Regulation Choices is Open Forum’s Topic of the Month.
 
Better Regulation Choices should explore the regulatory spectrum from self-regulation to black-letter law and everything in between.
 
  • Better regulation
What do we mean by this? How far has the COAG regulatory agenda taken us towards better regulation? What happens next?
  • Dimensions of choice
What regulatory options exist? What lessons can we learn from existing cases? Who wins and loses from different regulatory approaches?
  • Global perspective/new frontiers
How can better regulation extend across national boundaries? How can the quality of regulation be improved by new ways of consulting?
 
Standards Australia had planned to present a 1 day Better Regulation Choices Conference in Canberra on 25 November 2009, but sadly despite their best efforts in issue-framing, marketing and organisation, the number of registrations received for the conference did not match the quality of the program. Regretfully, Standards Australia have decided to cancel the conference. Standards Australia wishes to apologise to all for the inconvenience and thank the people who had agreed to make presentations or chair sessions, sponsors, and those people who registered. Registration refunds will be organised as soon as possible.
 
A comprehensive Issues Paper provides a framework for this online discussion on Better Regulation Choices. Download the Issues Paper from the Standards Australia website here.
 
"The international financial crisis has given deregulation a bad name. The crisis is blamed partly on the failure of governments to regulate markets adequately. But de-regulation in panic is not the answer.
 
A more fruitful outcome from the crisis would be a sharper focus on ‘better regulation’. This applies in any field, not just finance. ‘Better regulation’ is regulation that is risk-based, considers costs and benefits, is firmly grounded in consultation, is continuously improved, and is efficiently produced. Increasingly also it is internationally focused and, in our region, Trans-Tasman regulatory issues are coming in for renewed attention."
 
Each of these attributes is addressed in the Issues Paper, along with progress at COAG and lessons that can be learned from regulatory case studies.
 
November’s Topic of the Month on Open Forum is opportunity for those who had hoped to attend the conference, and anybody else with an interested in encouraging Better Regulation Choices to participate in an informal discussion about the topics the conference sessions had planned to address, namely:
  • Progress to date in the COAG regulation agenda and what should come next, including Trans-Tasman initiatives
  • Case studies from the points of view of regulators and those affected by regulation
  • How regulatory issues are being tackled across national boundaries and to facilitate international communication.
To participate in the Better Regulation Choices online discussion, simply follow the links below to read the related blogs, login to leave a comment, or email us your own contribution or contributor suggestion to srose@openforum.com.au or phone +61 2 8303 2430.
 
 
  ______________________________

RELATED CONTENT:

SHARE WITH:

Leave a Comment