Bunting questions relevance of Trade Board

Peter Bunting, Opposition Spokesman on Industry, questioned the relevance of the Trade Board as he made his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament yesterday.

Bunting raised the issue while calling for the public sector to play a more facilitative role in the Government's quest to boost growth and productivity.

Bunting asked: “Is it something left over from when we had a closed economy before we moved to a market economy and liberalised exchange controls? I mean, why would somebody need a licence to import a piece of heavy equipment? It can only be used in agriculture, in construction or in mining. Why would we want to restrict activity in those areas?”.

He argued that the philosophy of "control" that drives public sector operations needs to be overhauled to reduce bureaucracy.

“We have to reorient the role and purpose of the public sector to helping people get through. We have to let them understand that you should never walk through the lobby of a government agency that serves the public, see people sitting there and don’t stop and ask ‘How can I help you?’,” Bunting argued.

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