Occupational health and safety laws won’t capture the imagination of voters in an agonisingly long lead-up to the NSW state poll in March (only 162 restless sleeps to go). But it’s another failure in that short-lived experiment in cooperative federalism, and another example of everything that’s wrong with this rotten state government.
As our friends at Smart Company report, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has welshed on a deal with the PM on reforms to OH&S laws. Every state agreed on harmonising regulations, after years of negotiations. Now Keneally wants out. Gillard, justifiably, is furious.
As the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s David Gregory snaps: “It is hard to think of a decision that demonstrates greater parochial short-term self-interest.”
It’s hard to think of a government, generally, as guilty of the same crime.
Much of the red tape strangling business in this country is mere duplication between states. Just ask a small business owner how many costly hours are spent complying with different regulatory frameworks in each and every state they operate in. It’s a drain on resources, and a dead weight on economic productivity. Harmonising OH&S laws was a relatively small but important piece of reform.
Not according to Keneally, who refuses to sign the deal in an effort to appease the union hacks keeping her in the job.
Is it any wonder business fled the so-called premier state as its economy stalled? Keneally seems determined to ward them off coming back.
Just 162 days — it can’t come soon enough.
It seems, that we should have discarded the states, for a better system of government, a long time ago, starting with NSW
I have a feeling this pathetic attempt by Ms Keneally to pacify her union supporters will backfire big time. She cannot possibly retain power, that is a given, so what’s the game? Get off side with Federal Labor? dumb. Get off side with the overall union movement? dumber. Sink further into the depths of bad blood with the business community? Her Govt can hardly sink any further. Political suicide? inevitable.
As a long time Labor voter and supporter it brings me no joy to agree, the sooner this lot is booted out the better for everyone.
But then what?
If, as seems likely, there is a Lib-Nat landslide what will change?
Chris they cannot possibly be worse than the current lot, can they? Not even the Libs can be as inept and completely out of its depth as this Labor Govt in NSW.
Another ‘editorial’ in Crikey with no byline!
Another half-smart headline!
Another chance to thrash an incompetent NSW Labor government.
Perhaps some analysis of the actual issues (agree with them or not) would have helped add to the some total of human knowledge.
As with the National Curriculum .. standardisation that is dumb is still dumb.
These are reasonable IR issues to be fought over … all I puzzle at is who was the NSW genius who is supposed to have agreed – or was there any actual agreement on these points?
As a former public servant I know these were always sticking points for NSW.
When Crikey goes tabloid what hope have any of us got to read something worthwhile?