NSW government considers cutting red tape to drive jobs growth

A bold plan to cut red tape and fast-track people into bar jobs is being considered to drive employment growth.

Red tape could be cut to get drinks flowing at Covid-stricken hospitality venues, with Treasurer Matt Kean eyeing off changes to ease the bottleneck on our state’s productivity and supply chain.

Under one plan being closely considered, staff could be allowed to pull beers without needing to obtain a Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate, as long as they are supervised by a manager with their RSA.

The plan is designed to reduce barriers to hospitality jobs, and is primarily pitched at giving immediate opportunities for school-leavers and others looking for work.

Bartender Nadia Lahoud at the Alfred Hotel in Camperdown. Picture: Tim Hunter

Mr Kean has asked Treasury for advice on the proposal and sought industry feedback on the plan. Any changes would be designed to cut expensive red tape while ensuring alcohol is still served responsibly.

The idea is part of a suite of measures being drafted by the Treasurer, in consultation with Planning Minister Anthony Roberts, as the State Government prepares to unveil an economic support package to keep businesses afloat.

Extraordinary Covid powers could be used to reinstate emergency productivity measures which were used to keep the economy running during the first Covid wave in 2020.

In a move to get more food on supermarket shelves, delivery trucks could again be permitted to service suburban areas around the clock in industrial and business zones.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Construction sites could again be allowed to operate on weekends and public holidays, which could get more trades people onto the tools.

Other measures — like allowing supermarkets and pharmacies to operate around the clock and freeing up outdoor space for alfresco dining — are also set to be extended.

“These changes are designed to help millions of workers and their employers, from some of the state’s biggest companies to local cafes,” Mr Kean said. “This is about supporting workers and to ensure we come out of this crisis stronger than before.

“Now is the time to innovate to help us get through this difficult period.”

Consumer confidence has slumped to its lowest January level in three decades, according to the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan survey.

Nationwide confidence fell 7.6 per cent last week to the lowest level since October last year, when NSW was emerging from its Delta lockdown.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said the government was finalising an economic support package which would “ensure financial support goes to where it will make a difference”.

“You don’t provide financial support before a business closes, you provide financial support following that period,” Mr Perrottet said, in comments suggesting any future measures will be more targeted than previous payments.

However the Premier said the package would be designed to keep businesses going until demand returns and the bottleneck on labour supply eases.

Sam Smith, publican at The Alfred Hotel in Camperdown, said he would welcome any move to cut red tape so he could more easily hire new staff.

“Since the last week of December it’s been dead,” he said.

“Everyone’s so scared of the virus so they’re staying home.”

Bartender Nadia Lahoud, who has worked at The Alfred for two years, said obtaining her RSA certificate was a complicated process costing her a “couple of hundred” dollars. She said she’d support moves to make the certificates easier to obtain.