Four decades ago, then-prime minister Bob Hawke questioned a Labor Party ethos that sought greater political control over the economy and said Australia had “accumulated an excessive and often irrelevant and obstructive body of laws and regulations”.

It’s a damning indictment of the country’s economic malaise that his words still hold true. Despite efforts by governments of both political persuasions to cut red tape, regulation continues to choke growth and productivity and has turned good intentions into bad outcomes. As Assistant Minister for Productivity and Competition Andrew Leigh wrote in this masthead, Australia doesn’t lack ideas, capital or demand to solve problems in housing and clean energy, but it does lack institutions that can deliver. As Treasurer Jim Chalmers wrote to Productivity Commission Chief Danielle Wood in February, an inquiry focused on the government’s productivity agenda should consider that “effective regulatory settings can play a crucial role in improving productivity by promoting competition, improving the environment for doing business and fostering innovation”.