Goal to improve and upgrade systems and staff, and slash business licensing and approvals to a max 30 days
CHIEF Minister Michael Gunner has unveiled part of the government’s red tape-slashing plan to make the NT the “easiest place to do business”
Northern Territory
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A ONE-STOP bureaucracy shop for Territory businesses and a suite of law changes will be put in place as part of the government’s red tape-slashing plan to make the NT the “easiest place to do business”.
The “immediate action plan” comes after Chief Minister Michael Gunner, in light of the Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission’s draft report released in late July, instructed public service departmental heads to “urgently determine” how each agency can deliver the plan.
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The goal is to improve and upgrade systems and staff, and slash business licensing and approvals to a maximum 30 days.
The cornerstone of the commission’s recommendations was to attract private investment to the Territory by making it the “easiest place in the country to do business” — including via swift and wide-ranging regulatory and administrative reform and getting the public service to “step up”.
Mr Gunner has approved a nine-point plan to ensure the government hits the commission’s preferred deadline of June 2021.
It includes creating a single point of entry “concierge service” for business through existing Territory Business Centre branches, designed to “remove complexity” and cut the time it takes to deal with government and get approvals.
A government-wide review into how decisions are delegated will also be undertaken, with the aim of figuring out how lower-ranking bureaucrats can make decisions based on risk.
It is hoped this will reduce bottlenecks for approvals at the top of agencies.
A sweeping review of NT legislation will be carried out and an omnibus red tap reduction bill written up.
The government will also write itself guidelines on time frames for “key regulatory approvals”, with the document and the public service’s performance to be made public.
Other changes, all due to be completed by early or mid-2021, include developing a standard style for NT government digital forms to make them consistent across agencies and easier to use.
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Mr Gunner said that the government’s job was to “make life easier” and act quickly where it could.
“During the coronavirus crisis we have acted fast to save lives and save jobs. Now I want us to keep acting fast to grow the economy and create more jobs. Our ‘whatever it takes’ culture is here to stay,” he said.
“We aren’t waiting around, if there are things we can do right away to make life easier for local business, we will.”
The TERC’s final report is due to be handed down in November.
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