Attorney-General Philip Ruddock pounced on the statement, criticising it as “hollow”, and urging Beazley to follow through with his state colleagues on the Government’s proposals to reduce red tape for small business.

Ruddock tagged personal property security law as one of the biggest areas for reform. “Many small businesses have capital tied up in business assets that they are currently unable to offer easily as collateral for loans because of the complicated patchwork of laws and registers we have,” Ruddock said.

The Government wants a single national register to allow prospective lenders and purchasers involving all personal property, other than houses or land, to check whether there is an encumbrance on the property cheaply and easily on the Internet.

Existing Commonwealth, State and Territory registers vary between States and are incomplete, said the Attorney-General. “A single national personal property security register would reduce unnecessary costs on business and create greater certainty for consumers,” he said.

“If [Beazley] is really serious about reducing red tape, he would embrace the proposed reforms to personal property securities law and encourage his state and territory colleagues to get on board.”