The increasing spread of regulation and the faster pace of regulatory change have been two of the biggest issues affecting industry policy over the past two decades, according to outgoing Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA director Bill Sashegyi.
After 18 years with the CCI, most recently as director industry policy, Mr Sashegyi is leaving this week to take up a new position with international engin-eering group Kellogg Brown & Root as its Perth-based director transportation.
He said the new job would allow him to utilise all of the experience gained during his career, which started as an engineer at main roads.
Reflecting on industry policy challenges, Mr Sashegyi said more “stakeholders” had become involved in the process, including community groups.
“It’s a bigger battle today to address industry issues,” he said.
Mr Sashegyi cited the long-running consultation process implemented by the state government to select new sites for hazardous waste precincts in Western Australia as an extreme example of the new approach.
The Core Consultative Committee on waste, which is co-chaired by the CCI’s Mary Askey and the Contaminated Sites Alliance’s Lee Bell, was established in 2003 but is still several months away from making its recommendations to the state government.
Mr Sashegyi said another concern was the increasing burden of regulation, which he claimed was stifling the ability of the small business sector to expand.
“We are seeing a trend to big business that can handle the regulation and to micro businesses,” he said.
“I believe the regulatory burden is a contributor to the growth of big business.”
Mr Sashegyi lamented that WA still does not have a formal process for assessing the impact of regulation.
In terms of achievements, Mr Sashegyi named the deregulation of the electricity industry following a 15-year campaign for reform.
“I think that will bear considerable benefit for WA industry.”
He also noted the continued development of the Kwinana industrial area, where expansion had been combined with “a big improvement in environmental management”.
“People don’t appreciate the benefits of having a fully integrated industrial site with full infrastructure in that location,” he said.
Mr Sashegyi said it was important to celebrate WA success stories, such as rapidly growing companies like RCR Tomlinson and Hoffman Engineering and the development of the Australian Marine Complex at Henderson.
