The Tasmanian majority Liberal Government is continuing to remove red tape barriers and over regulation in order to boost private sector investment and create more jobs.
The latest Tasmanian Red Tape Audit Report confirms 84 per cent of the 125 identified red tape issues have now been resolved, equating to over 100 red tape reforms made by this Government.
These reforms have made doing business in Tasmania easier, but there is more to be done.
A common complaint by Tasmanians, whether they be building a house, a hotel or a manufacturing plant is the time it takes to gain the necessary development permits required for electricity, water and sewerage connections.
In a state with a growing population and growing demand for housing it is essential we respond to industry feedback in a way that maximises efficiency and addresses any avoidable delays and costs.
Clearly we need to further simplify our approvals process so homes are approved and built more quickly.
That is why today, I am announcing that we will, after consulting with TasNetworks, TasWater and industry representative bodies, this year introduce legislative timeframes for the permits for energy and water and sewerage services.
We know that the supply of land is critical to meeting demand for housing and in this year’s budget we will better resource our land titles office for faster releases of titles to the market.
These are just some of the actions we will be taking to reduce the time to get houses built and increase the supply of land. These, along with other proposed changes, will save months on the time it takes to get Tasmanians into new housing.