“New Zealand is over regulated. Government has got too big,” said the Minister for Regulatory Reform in New Zealand, Rodney Hide. In a speech to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce last week, Hide said “red tape is typing up businesses in knots”, while also condemning the draining of resources from the “productive sectors” into the state sector, “which has been dragging the economy and the country down”. The NZ politician, who has long campaigned about government spending, said an “avalanche of new rules and regulations” is forcing businesses and councils to give up on projects. He said government regulation is “coercion”. “Using law to restrict people’s rights and actions is only acceptable when better alternatives won’t work, and when it’s in the public interest to do so,” he said. 

Short-selling ban lifted: ASIC

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has lifted its ban on short-selling, effective from this morning. The regulator announced this morning that the ban, which has been in place since 21 September last year, would be lifted from 10am. The Commission had reviewed market conditions and found that the balance between market efficiency and potential systemic concern had now moved in favour of the ban being lifted, Money Management reports. ASIC has claimed, however, that it will not hesitate to reimpose the ban if needed.