Brian Easton on Light-handed regulation

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 pm, September 7th, 2012 - 10 comments
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Brian Easton will introduce the Fabian Society Light-handed Regulation Series at Connolly Hall, Guildford Terrace, Wellington, on Monday 10 September at 5:30pm. Brian’s presentation will  look at light-handed regulation and its effect on work safety, finance sector, energy sector and construction and building.

Brian will argue that  light-handed regulation has led systematically to a lack of safety in the workplace, monopolistic profits, the loss of private savings, and badly constructed buildings which have caused widespread economic waste, serious personal misfortune and even death. Brian will argue for a modernising left approach to regulation as a response to the above disasters. His paper is a significant contribution to what is an extremely important issue. If you wish to come, please register here.

Other presentations in the series will be on

  • Light-handed Regulation and Work Safety, presented by Hazel Armstrong on Monday 8 October;
  • Light-handed Regulation and the Finance Sector, presented by David Tripe on Wednesday 31 October;
  • Light-handed regulation and the Energy Sector, presented by Geoff Bertram on Monday 12 November; and
  • Light-handed Regulation and the Building Sector, presented by Brian Easton on Thursday 22 November.

All will be at Connolly Hall at 5:30pm.

These events will be timely as the Report of the Royal Commission into the Pike River mine disaster is expected to be delivered in late September, and the Report on the Cantebury Earthquake disaster on13 November. The anniversary of the 1987 stockmarket crash is 19 October.

10 comments on “Brian Easton on Light-handed regulation ”

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  1. lprent 1
    7 September 2012 at 10:09 pm

    Arrgghh – what about Auckland?

  2. xtasy 2
    8 September 2012 at 2:45 am

    Werry, werry Gut!

    What about too “lighthearted management” of the whole country? May add a bit of a lecture to that?

  3. Carol 3
    8 September 2012 at 7:20 am

    It seems to me that the NAct government employs a mixture of dictatorship and light-handed regulation.

    Dictatorship of the macro mechanisms available to government, and then light-handed regulation on more specific areas, leaving it to the market to cream off profits by pilfering from the least well-off and least powerful.

    http://www.greens.org.nz/press-releases/no-democracy-canterbury-until-2016

    This morning the Government announced the cancellation of next year’s election for Environment Canterbury (ECan), instead continuing with the Government-appointed Commissioners until 2016.

    “The National Government has been far too casual and authoritarian about removing people’s right to vote in Christchurch, without substantive reasons or any public consultation,” Green Party Christchurch and Local Government spokesperson Eugenie Sage said today.

    http://www.labour.org.nz/news/broken-promise-another-two-fingered-salute

    “My suspicion is that this latest u-turn is a pre-cursor to regional amalgamation on a grand scale.

    “If the Government has tasked its commissioners with preparing the way for a southern ‘super city’, then it should be upfront about that.

    “Cantabrians are sick and tired of being treated like idiots. Why, as ratepayers, should they be at the mercy of a group of people they have had no say in electing?

    “They didn’t want this three years ago. They don’t want another three years of it,” said Annette King.

    • Bored 3.1
      8 September 2012 at 12:53 pm

      Carol, cant tell if you are right about “a mixture of dictatorship and light-handed regulation”. I can tell you how it feels in business though: no difference between the Key and Clark regimes. There is a lot of noise but on the ground neither have done much.

      We do have a lower tax regime with Nact prefering to run up debt to pay for tax cuts on a lower tax take. From a business owner viewpoint this may be a mixed blessing, we will probably accentuate the business slowdown, and with it will come cuts in government expenditure. Then there is the drop in consumer expenditure…..

      • mike e 3.1.1
        8 September 2012 at 1:37 pm

        thatcherim reagonism rogernomics bushes tories republican all say they can balance the books but all they have ever done is run up mountains of debt and blame every body else especially the poor.

  4. Colonial Viper 4
    8 September 2012 at 8:03 am

    “Light handed regulation” sounds like a Crosby Textor smoothly framed good thing. If its irony, it’ll be too subtle for most Kiwis I reckon. It should have been framed as “Lazy regulation” or “Weak kneed regulation” or “Regulation by peeps who hate meeting real standards”. Or something.

  5. mike e 5
    8 September 2012 at 12:41 pm

    neglecting good economic management if we had regulated when the labour govt put forward legislation 2003 (circa) we would ber in a far better place now.
    its like not putting the shark nets out in summer.
    It can start a feeding frenzy.
    Thats the economic lunacy of Neo Liberalism.
    The free market is a wild beast.
    Discribed as either bull or bear both out of control.

    It needs to be harnessed not aloud free reign to maxmimise the benefit for all not just a few lucky ones.

  6. fnjckg 6
    8 September 2012 at 4:07 pm

    oops, this is the man i referred to by an incorrect name in a comment post; Brian Easton, Wow!

  7. BernyD 7
    12 September 2012 at 8:27 pm

    The science of civilised bahviour is well documented.
    It’s not a questions of light or heavy handed , it’s a question of “Appropriate”.

    Which is as much about time frames and open minded civilised observation and a simple ability to accept the regulation has become outdated, and needs revision.

    What these people are passing off as “Light Handed” is in fact non existent, because they have systematically ripped up those Civilised regulations. And replaced them with a “Anything goes” rhetoric.