State Governments foster innovation - don't they?

Within the thinking classes there is quite a bit of debate about how to encourage innovation and the creation of new industries within and across the Australian corporate landscape.

This is not an easy issue to deal with because most industry in Australia has resulted from government distortion of one form or another. Just about every moderately successful industry has its roots in rules and regulations that have been manipulated by governments to create those mythical things that are known as "jobs".

Remember the "Banks" and the "Telco's" and the "thousands of other state sponsored businesses"? Even your local tradesmen exist because state governments have deemed it necessary to "license" people who offer to work on your houses. Which raises the question about why Garrett’s insulation programme failed so dismally - given that the state governments are responsible for the “quality” and “licensing” of these workers? But that is another story.

I defy anyone to identify an industry in Australia that was born without assistance - which has grown up on its own and which is now a successful "free enterprise" activity.

There simply isn't one.

Even those industries that are showcased as the most "capitalist" have been fostered by government with some form of tax, concession, tariff, or other assistance. Sometimes the "assistance" is not always obvious - but it is always there.

Which always makes me laugh at the Republican party and Liberal party's view of the world which is about removing government from the market - and allowing "free enterprise" to *blossom and bloom*. All it really does is allow the greedy to pocket the government sanctioned proceeds at the expense of the rest of us.

For 200 years in Australia we have had state governments pulling levers and deciding the "rules" about what can and can't happen in their jurisdictions. And for most of those 200 years they have made rules that are guided by the people with influence who knock on their doors. Lobbyists have always been there and have always been pushing their view of the world. The way policy has evolved has by and large been driven by the rich and the powerful influencing governments - often to the detriment of the general population. I would argue that the political results across two Australian states last weekend reflect the long term consequence of this.

Which brings me to my point?

There is an enormous number of old, worn out and redundant rules (dressed up as public policy) that have been on the books for decades and which are really hindering the creation of new industries in the 21st century. Many of them were created in an earlier era - often to satisfy the greed of some fat, rich and dumb industrialist or pastoralist - or to artificially create some bureaucratic empire.

It's time for a review of these rules - with the objective being to ensure they are all relevant in the 21st century - are any of our state premiers up to it?