New Zealand’s Regulatory Standards Act
“To lift productivity and wages, ACT’s coalition agreement includes a commitment to pass a Regulatory Standards Act.
“The Bill will codify principles of good regulatory practice for existing and future regulations,” says Mr Seymour.
“It seeks to bring the same level of discipline to regulation that the Public Finance Act brings to public spending, with the Ministry for Regulation playing a role akin to that of Treasury.
“Some regulations operate differently in practice than they do in theory. To make regulators accountable to the New Zealanders they regulate, the Bill contains a recourse mechanism, by establishing a Regulatory Standards Board. The Board will assess complaints and challenges to regulations, issuing non-binding recommendations and public reports.
“If we raise the political cost of making bad laws by allowing New Zealanders to hold regulators accountable, the outcome will be better law-making, higher productivity, and higher wages.
I am pleased to, many years ago, have done preperatory work with Bryce Wilkinson on the ideas behind this legislation. I am told this is likely to pass, here is more on the bill.