In Australia, if you’re black with black curly hair and a black beard, you can ignore all rules and laws; especially if you’re from North Africa or the ME. Being a Muslim is also a ticket to ride!

I often have sympathy with small businesses complaining about over-regulation, but not when it takes the form in this article – a generalised, abstract whinge about bureaucrats and “red tape” lack of a “fair go”, forms and permits, etc, etc.

Regulations in themselves are neither good nor bad. Almost all exist with the intention of delivering benefits or preventing harm. Almost all impose costs, on businesses and their customers, and sometimes have other unintended consequences. Governments should try to ensure the benefits exceed the costs by as much as possible.

If the author wants the government to reform regulation, he would be more persuasive providing some concrete examples of specific regulations and why they fail to deliver the benefits intended, or do so at disproportionate cost

"It's not Victorians who are at fault,"

You get what you vote for. They are at fault.

In my experience government doesn't have enough insights on a local level, the true needs and micro-locality problems that are happening there.

There's plethora examples of it, it can be as simple working hours, or complicated as taxes and subsidies.