Having a Say - Innovation in Governance
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Transcript of Having a Say - Innovation in Governance
remoteFOCUS
Having your Say:Innovations in Governance in Remote
Australia
Presentation toDesert Knowledge Virtual Meeting Place
Desert Innovation Festival – Australian Innovation Festival
Dr Bruce WalkerProject Director
remoteFOCUS Project
May 2012
Remote Australia
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GeographyGeography
DemographyDemography
EconomyEconomy
SocialSocial
Characteristics of Remote Australia
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GeographyGeography
DemographyDemography
EconomyEconomy
SocialSocial
Characteristics of Remote Australia
Variable Climate•Extremes of weather•Unpredictability
Patchy Resources
•Low soil fertility•Unreliable water•Natural resource enclaves
Under-capitalised Infrastructure
•Skewed investments link to global economy
Settlement Pattern
•Determined for a past era•Impacted by technology and government policy
Variable Climate•Extremes of weather•Unpredictability
Patchy Resources
•Low soil fertility•Unreliable water•Natural resource enclaves
Under-capitalised Infrastructure
•Skewed investments link to global economy
Settlement Pattern
•Determined for a past era•Impacted by technology and government policy
Geography
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GeographyGeography
DemographyDemography
EconomyEconomy
SocialSocial
Characteristics of Remote AustraliaSparse mobile population
•Great distance to economic and political centres
•Government has prominent role FIFO
•Change to resource sector business model
•Tourism competes with mining•Increasing expatriate outlook•Not tuned to local diversity
Small Business Sector•Significant contribution to local employment
Outmigration of Young People
Long Term Resident Population of Aboriginal People
•Current policy changes causing change and movement
Sparse mobile population•Great distance to economic and political centres
•Government has prominent role FIFO
•Change to resource sector business model
•Tourism competes with mining•Increasing expatriate outlook•Not tuned to local diversity
Small Business Sector•Significant contribution to local employment
Outmigration of Young People
Long Term Resident Population of Aboriginal People
•Current policy changes causing change and movement
Demography
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GeographyGeography
DemographyDemography
EconomyEconomy
SocialSocial
Characteristics of Remote Australia•Historically minerals, cattle, tourism create wealth
•Wealth production not matched by investment in local labour or communities
•Productivity is lower•Chronic underinvestment in public services
•Benefits accrue in larger urban centres like Perth
Remote Australia is on the periphery of Australian democracy.
It is characterised by a dual economy and absence of a market that might deliver outcomes without government interventions.
•Historically minerals, cattle, tourism create wealth
•Wealth production not matched by investment in local labour or communities
•Productivity is lower•Chronic underinvestment in public services
•Benefits accrue in larger urban centres like Perth
Remote Australia is on the periphery of Australian democracy.
It is characterised by a dual economy and absence of a market that might deliver outcomes without government interventions.
Economy
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GeographyGeography
DemographyDemography
EconomyEconomy
SocialSocial
Characteristics of Remote Australia
• local institutions are being overwhelmed
• many are unsuited to the tasks they confront
• they are unable to create durable and equitable arrangements to manage conflict, deliver services or sponsor entrepreneurial activity
Social
Five Propositions:
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Remote Australia confronts extraordinarily diverse and complex local realities. Common issues that are globally familiar: Common to regions where people reside remote from centres of economic & political power but are facing rapid social and economic change
Present governance arrangements are not well attuned to the circumstances that are emerging in remote Australia and public policy has limited influence
There are ways of remedying these governance issues, but the more promising prospects involve greater degrees—and varying patterns—of decentralised governance and community engagement
Normal legislative politics are unlikely to result in structural reforms. Special purpose cross-party initiatives, political commitment and support from business, professional and community organisations is required
In the absence of a narrative that embraces micro economic reform and establishes the national interest in remote Australia, and a settlement pattern that supports that national interest, nothing is going to change
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Five things people in remote Australia want but don’t get:
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1. a say in decisions that affect them
2. equitable and sustainable financial flows
3. better services and a locally responsive public service
4. local control and accountability where possible;
5. inclusion in the greater Australian narrative.
1. a say in decisions that affect them
2. equitable and sustainable financial flows
3. better services and a locally responsive public service
4. local control and accountability where possible;
5. inclusion in the greater Australian narrative.
What Governments Say:
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Dept Finance
Productivity Commission
MAC Reports
ANAO
9 Reviews of Whole of Government
FaHCSIA
WA Economic Audit
What Governments Say:
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Government intentions proved persistently impossible to translate into practice
What Governments Say:
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No official body has ever questioned the basic framework for program delivery or asked whether governance might itself be a primary contributor to policy failings.
What Governments Say:
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The systems of government work against change
International experience:
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UK & OECD Reports
• Place based approaches
• Localism Bills
• Innovation Regions
• Experimentalist/ Pragmatist approaches
• Relational contracting and learning by doing
Why has this happened ?
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Why has this happened ?
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30 years of New Public Management Reforms have shaped how governments • manage the economy,
• deliver services
• commit to public welfare
Why has this happened ?
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30 years of New Public Management Reforms have shaped how governments • manage the economy,
• deliver services
• commit to public welfare
NPM Reforms have had
• very uneven effects in remote Australia
Why has this happened ?
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30 years of New Public Management Reforms have shaped how governments • manage the economy,
• deliver services
• commit to public welfare
NPM Reforms have led to
• a rise in executive power
• political administrative centralisation
• the fragmentation of government
• problems of accountability
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The present configuration of governance policy and practice is not working in remote Australia
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In this context there are severe limits to what can be achieved through better coordination or more
efficient service delivery
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For large parts of remote Australia the notion that the market will deliver positive outcomes – in services,
settlement patterns, environmental management, and wider social inclusion – is a fiction
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To resolve ‘wicked’ problems in remote Australia governments have resorted to whole of government
and strategic intervention approaches
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More of the sa
me will not w
ork
More of the sa
me will not w
ork
Six structural dysfunctions erode the capacity of the present structure of government to administer remote Australia.
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Six structural dysfunctions erode the capacity of the present structure of government to administer remote Australia.
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There is not only a delivery and local engagement gap
but a profound systemic gap
covering the development of strategiesfor remote Australia
New Governance Principles
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The nature and pace of change in remote Australia,the ongoing contest as people respond and adjust to change necessitates creation of regional governance structures.
The nature and pace of change in remote Australia,the ongoing contest as people respond and adjust to change necessitates creation of regional governance structures.
New Governance Principles
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The nature and pace of change in remote Australia,the ongoing contest as people respond and adjust to change necessitates creation of regional governance structures.
The nature and pace of change in remote Australia,the ongoing contest as people respond and adjust to change necessitates creation of regional governance structures.
These structures need to endure over time and be above the contest These structures need to endure over time and be above the contest
Lessons for Remote Australia
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11Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.
Lessons for Remote Australia
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11
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Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Lessons for Remote Australia
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11
22
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Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Agglomeration, regional integration and regional connectivity are keys to an innovative response.
Lessons for Remote Australia
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11
22
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Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Place centred governance is a precursor to place based initiatives where place centred relates to mandate rather than location.Place centred governance is a precursor to place based initiatives where place centred relates to mandate rather than location.
Agglomeration, regional integration and regional connectivity are keys to an innovative response.
Lessons for Remote Australia
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11
22
33
44
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Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.Economic policy and practice, rather than a single focus on subsidies, welfare and ‘services’, must be at the heart of policy on remote Australia.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Government needs to do more than set macro-economic conditions – it needs to be an active partner in business/livelihood with community and private sector.
Place centred governance is a precursor to place based initiatives where place centred relates to mandate rather than location.Place centred governance is a precursor to place based initiatives where place centred relates to mandate rather than location.
Government could stimulate capacity in remote Australia through micro-economic reform including adopting more innovative regional and procurement policies
Government could stimulate capacity in remote Australia through micro-economic reform including adopting more innovative regional and procurement policies
Agglomeration, regional integration and regional connectivity are keys to an innovative response.
Lessons from Remote Australia
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11 It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.
Lessons from Remote Australia
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It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Lessons from Remote Australia
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11
22
33
It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
The structure and configuration of institutions across remote Australia are largely not ‘custom built’ or fit for their particular purpose.
Lessons from Remote Australia
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11
22
33
44
It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Consideration of economic circumstances is crucial in establishing priorities in remote Australia. The private sector has been more successful at working through these issues than government.
Consideration of economic circumstances is crucial in establishing priorities in remote Australia. The private sector has been more successful at working through these issues than government.
The structure and configuration of institutions across remote Australia are largely not ‘custom built’ or fit for their particular purpose.
Lessons from Remote Australia
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11
22
33
44
55
It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Consideration of economic circumstances is crucial in establishing priorities in remote Australia. The private sector has been more successful at working through these issues than government.
Consideration of economic circumstances is crucial in establishing priorities in remote Australia. The private sector has been more successful at working through these issues than government.
Failure to innovate is most marked in the public sector.Failure to innovate is most marked in the public sector.
The structure and configuration of institutions across remote Australia are largely not ‘custom built’ or fit for their particular purpose.
Lessons from Remote Australia
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11
22
33
44
55
It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.It is not clear who, if anyone, is setting the priorities for remote Australia or what those priorities are.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Three tiers of government and a series of ad hoc regional arrangements appear to be incapable of resolving both the priorities and the contests that need to take place around these arrangements.
Consideration of economic circumstances is crucial in establishing priorities in remote Australia. The private sector has been more successful at working through these issues than government.
Consideration of economic circumstances is crucial in establishing priorities in remote Australia. The private sector has been more successful at working through these issues than government.
Failure to innovate is most marked in the public sector.Failure to innovate is most marked in the public sector.
The structure and configuration of institutions across remote Australia are largely not ‘custom built’ or fit for their particular purpose.
66 The five things people ‘want but don’t get’ contributes to discontent and unhappiness.The five things people ‘want but don’t get’ contributes to discontent and unhappiness.
Our Conclusion:
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Without innovative systemic change in the way governments conceive and govern remote Australia;
• there will only be ephemeral improvements that will
not sustain a pattern of governance across the nation, and
• the consistency of concerns expressed across
remote Australia will not diminish, and
• you will not have a say in decisions that affect you.
To receive a copy of the report, join the remoteFOCUS conversation atwww.desertknowledgecommons.net
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