One of the key election platforms of Campbell Newman and the LNP was a reduction in cost of living for Queenslanders, supported by a significant reduction in the cost of the public service. There has been considerable media attention on the current budget and staffing cuts across the Queensland Government, however it’s also important to note that a major commitment is cutting red tape and regulation by 20 per cent. This should bring cost savings to Queensland but importantly should result in improved interface between government, business and the community.
Regulatory reform has been on the agenda for some time prior to the election, and TMS Consulting has previously assisted a number of government clients with projects that are within the regulatory reform agenda. Best practice regulatory reform acknowledges the requirement for a significant cultural shift to ensure not only the streamlining and reduction of the stock of existing regulation, but also to ensure that new regulatory initiatives are aligned to the new way of business. In recent discussions with clients it is clear that a best practice approach would involved both regulatory reform but also organisational culture change which is even more relevant with the recent Machinery-of-Government changes.
Prior to the election TMS Consulting was working with one of the major departments on a “Blueprint for Reform” that would have articulated the pathway of regulatory reform coupled with cultural change that is required to meet the ambitious targets set across the Queensland government. This project, should it continue, will build on world’s best practice in regulatory reform and will see the department achieve significant cost savings not only for the government, but also for the Queensland community as a whole. TMS will publish a paper shortly regarding the combination of regulatory reform and its links to cultural change along with some thoughts related to how the recent and upcoming changes in government are an opportunity to combine the two to best effect – save money, time and effort but also unite staff behind a new and innovative way of doing business.
