bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
TOWARDS RESOURCEFUL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A MANAGEMENT POLEMIC
Authors: Uhr John
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Doctrines of public administration are in ferment. Proponents of the newer public management challenge defenders of the traditional public service. Academic commentators frequently oppose both the newer managerialism and the traditional apolitical professionalism. The net effect is to distort the call for better public management. One useful step out of the mess is backwards—toward a recovery of the fundamentals of democratic political theory, of that original sense of the governing partnership between public servant and politician. In the 1950s, Fritz Morstein Marx called it resourceful public administration. By reviving this older sense of public resources, we tap a fundamental but frequently ignored vein of public administration theory. Through “the other Marx” we rediscover his mentor, John Stuart Mill, from whom we still have much to learn about our greatest administrative resource—our people, both politicians and public servants. Both Marx and Mill give us salutary examples on how to ask the basic questions of principle, which we tend to bypass in our pursuit of pragmatic arrangements.
COLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMS IN THE REGULATION OF AUSTRALIA'S COMMON PROPERTY RENEWABLE RESOURCES1
Authors: Gerritsen Rolf
Published: March 2008

Abstract: This paper examines the Northern Prawn Fishery of Australia as an illustration of the consistent failures of systems of open (“market”?) access to common property goods. The dilemmas of collective action explain both why those occurred and substantially why subsequent regulatory intervention has not succeeded either in its stated objectives. It is argued, unfashionably, that the endemic nature of these collective action dilemmas in the fishery means that in 1987 the regulatory schema proposed by the government (the allocative coercion option?) would have provided superior outcomes to allocations based on self‐regulation by the industry.
THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONTROL STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC SECTOR UTILITIES*
Authors: Miah M. N.
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Profit‐based financial measures have been given prominence in the present financial accountability and control systems of public sector utilities in Australia. As a result, periodic evaluation of financial accountability and managerial performance suffers from a lack of objective‐orientation. Assessing the financial accountability and controlling the activities of public utilities properly requires information consistent with their operational environment. Neither clear financial policies and targets, nor a set of environment‐specific performance measures have been outlined by the government. The paper proposes that, in addition to profit measures, consideration should also be given to non‐profit measures if an improvement is really desired in the monitoring of managerial performance and in accountability of those utilities which operate in virtual monopoly or near‐monopoly situations.
DEVELOPMENTS IN NEW SOUTH WALES PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION*
Authors: Moore Barry
Published: March 2008

There are probably more changes taking place in public administration than at any previous time. In some sectors (like health) staff are now used to change; it has become a normal part of their everyday life. In other sectors (like road transport) it is a new experience.

Some changes are the latest chapter in a long and continuing story. Clear objectives, downstream autonomy and performance monitoring have been issues for as long as most public servants can remember. The fresh ingredients added by New South Wales Incorporated are the management incentives that make a direct appeal to the self‐interest of senior executives, and the ideology of competitive neutrality that mimics the price signals which motivate private enterprise.

The intended results are less political patronage, smaller government, more accountability, better morale and higher productivity. Stated in these terms they are unlikely to cause controversy; the current political consensus is that they would constitute worthy goals for any government.

However important differences of opinion will probably emerge over the order of priority for these goals. For example, how much should higher productivity be sought if it threatens accountability or morale? There is also likely to be debate between those who want everything in place immediately, even if it means industrial strife, and those who prefer a softly‐softly approach.
THE DIMMING OF ILLUSIONS: CHANGING ATTITUDES OF LABOURERS TO DIRECT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT ON NSW PUBLIC WORKS, 1899–1916*
Authors: Sheldon Peter
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Direct employment on public works (or day labour) was a powerful symbol of the possibilities for reform within capitalism in the early years of this century. It promised not only more work at times of high unemployment, but better conditions of employment. Further, there was the possibility of labourers, through their unions, having much greater control of their working lives.

The major political battles were over whether governments should use day labour or contract. But, for the labourers themselves, the question of the nature of the administration of day labour became an increasingly important one. A sympathetic administration, such as that under E.W. O'Sullivan, not only meant great practical benefits for labourers; it served also as an example of what was possible through developing an alternative model of dealing with capitalist crises.

However, in the case where a Labor government was unwilling to challenge the weight of traditional bourgeois economic thinking, day labour lost any pretence of being either model employment or a symbol for the future. In 1910–16, when labourers already had raised expectations of what day labour promised, such administration meant a growing alienation of labourers and their unions from the Holman Government and from Labor's parliamentary road in general.
THE OLD AND NEW GUARDS: A FACTOR IN THE LIBERALISATION OF AUSTRALIA'S RESTRICTIVE IMMIGRATION POLICY*
Authors: Brawley Sean S.
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Prior to the second world war, the White Australia policy had been secure as the foundation stone of Australia's immigration policy. In the post‐war period, however, the policy came under increased critical scrutiny. The result was the gradual liberalisation of Australia's restrictive immigration policy. There are many factors which can be held accountable for the dismantling of the White Australia policy. A certain factor was the rise of a new educated professional generation in the post‐war period. Their new positions in an expanding middle management environment enforced a desire to be well informed and responsible. As a consequence, the new generation found defects in national policy and the most visible was White Australia. This new generation called for a re‐evaluation of, and alternatives to, the policy through the formation of public organisations and through their increasing power in Australian decision‐making bodies, especially the public service and the major political parties.
INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: THE ORIGINS AND NATURE OF THE 1985 QUEENSLAND ELECTRICITY DISPUTE
Authors: Blackmur Douglas
Published: March 2008

Abstract: An examination of the origins and nature of the 1985 Electricity Dispute in Queensland is the principal concern of this paper. The evidence suggests that the outbreak of the dispute can only be fully understood if due weight is given to certain important international, national and local changes in the political, economic and industrial relations spheres which took place in the 1970s and 1980s. The response of the Queensland government to the dispute, while in part explicable in terms of these changes, must be comprehended within a wider framework which also recognises the governing National Party's traditional ideological rejection of the principles of organised labour. The paper concludes that the nature and circumstances of the dispute pose a continuing, and a significant, challenge to “consensus and stability” interpretations of Australian history.
CHALLENGES OF THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS: FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR TRAINING*
Authors: Corkery Joan
Published: March 2008

Abstract: This paper looks at the ever‐increasing pace of change in modern society, and its impact on public:services. Challenges to the training and staff development function to help public services adjust to these changes in the period into the twenty‐first century are discussed. Providing means to stimulate senior officials to reflect on their work in a context broader than that of the everyday job, and ensuring a flexible, open relationship between those officials and specialised human resource professionals, are seen as essential requirements.
THE POLITICS OF ROAD FUNDING: REMOTE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES AND FEDERALISM IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Authors: Fletcher Christine
Published: March 2008

Abstract: This paper illustrates how remote Aboriginal communities shape rural road classification and funding policies in three Western Australian shires. The Australian federal system is characterised by a complex range of commonwealth and state governmental agencies competing for political space within different localities. Because Aborigines are constituents of the commonwealth and the state, a distinction is drawn between local government political activity, and politics that occur within the locality of a shire.

Success in influencing policy‐making processes throughout the federal system stems from the participants' ability to exploit the system. The Aboriginal impact on road policy‐making within remote localities is linked to electoral, bureaucratic, and sectional interest politics. These are features of governing and they provide a conceptual framework for the organisation of political activity by commonwealth, state, and local agencies, and Aboriginal communities.
ELECTRICITY TARIFFS: SOCIAL POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Authors: McColl‐Kennedy Janet R. , Dann Susan J.
Published: March 2008

Abstract: The issue of equity in the provision of public utilities is one which has been the subject of a number of Australian studies over the past ten years. In particular, the obvious inequities in pricing between different classes of electricity consumers have attracted attention. Evidence that these inequities exist not only between, but also within, consumer classes was found in a survey of Brisbane residential electricity consumers. Significantly higher rates per kilowatt hour are paid by lower income consumers and the proportion of income spent on electricity is higher than that spent by the upper income households surveyed.

These inequities have important implications in the development of social policies, particularly those directed at the aged who, in many cases, rely on a low fixed income in the form of the old age pension. So far, in Australia, only the Victorian state government has approached this issue in any detail as a part of its Social Justice Strategy despite the fact that similar inequities in the provision of electricity to household consumers exist in all states.
TAXATION AND THE ECONOMY: A BUSINESS VIEW ON SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES
Authors: Kent John
Published: March 2008

Australia is facing major economic problems. The overseas debt is uncomfortably high and we, like other countries, are having to face up to problems associated with the ageing of our population.

To overcome these problems we need to save through superannuation and otherwise. Furthermore, we need to encourage further development of overseas operations by Australian companies and remove existing constraints.

Taxation plays an important role. A consumption tax/income tax trade‐off warrants thorough investigation. The benefits appear significant.

We should avoid unnecessary restrictions on business activities as complexities lead to inefficiencies. We should seek to clarify and hopefully simplify the taxation code; a major review of the Income Tax Assessment Act would seem in order.
THE IRRATIONAL USE OF WEBER'S IDEAL TYPES
Authors: Lamond David A.
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Max Weber's model of bureaucracy has been widely criticised as incapable of adequately capturing empirical reality, internally inconsistent, and inappropriately juxtaposed with the concepts of efficiency and rationality. This article first argues that much of this criticism can be disregarded as irrelevant, insofar as it has been largely based on a misinterpretation of Weber's conceptions, and then explores a variety of reasons for this misinterpretation. It is argued that the fundamental problem is the consideration of Weber's model in the context of a microanalysis of organisation, since it was not constructed by Weber for use in this way. Weber was an historical sociologist, concerned with the distinctive features of society, who utilised the comparative method as an aid to explanation and who developed the ideal type to assist in achieving that end. It is, therefore, irrational for organisation theorists to use his means to their ends.
GOVERNMENT‐OWNED COMPANIES AND SUBSIDIARIES: ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND ACCOUNTABILITY*
Authors: Coates John
Published: March 2008

Parliamentary committees (and especially the one I chair) seldom make headlines and often, perhaps after months or even years of toil, a carefully researched report is left to gather dust unnoticed. So I welcome the attention on this occasion.
TARGETING EFFICIENCY OF SOCIAL SECURITY PROGRAMS*
Authors: Mitchell Deborah
Published: March 2008

Abstract: The program budgeting and related reforms initiated by the Commonwealth in 1985 require federal departments and agencies to set objectives for their programs and to develop performance measures to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of these programs. This paper examines the targeting efficiency of Australia's social security programs and finds that these are among the most efficient of OECD countries.
RECONSTRUCTING PUBLIC BUREAUCRACIES: THE RESIDUALISATION OF EQUITY AND ACCESS*
Authors: Yeatman Anna
Published: March 2008

In a recent intervention within the debate about the managerialist reconstitution of Australian public bureaucracies, the Secretary of the Commonwealth Department of Finance, Michael Keating (1989, p.124), sums up what he calls the raison dêtre of the reforms “as changing the focus more to ‘management for results’”. He proposes that the aim in this has been “to focus management attention on the purposes of programs and the cost‐effective achievement of outcomes rather than simply on inputs and processes”.
INFORMING WILDERNESS POLICY: THE DISTRIBUTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF WILDERNESS CONSERVATION1
Authors: Gerritsen Rolf
Published: March 2008

Abstract:Over the last two decades wilderness conservation has resurfaced to become one of the most contentious issues currently on the public agenda. The “politics” of wilderness preservation has been extensively reported in the media, but academic analysis has been on a superficial level and usually by the supporters of “conservation”. This analysis has not proved particularly helpful for policy practitioners in this field.
THE POLITICS OF TRAFFIC LIGHTS: PROFESSIONALS IN PUBLIC BUREAUCRACY*
Authors: Davis Glyn
Published: March 2008

Abstract: This case study explores how organisational professionals cope with politics. It examines engineers responsible for synchronising traffic signals in Brisbane. How do engineers, working with complex statistical models of traffic flow, handle disruptive political demands for a pedestrian crossing or a shopping mall in the middle of an otherwise coordinated traffic signals system? And how do these organisational professionals, committed to installing and operating traffic signals, deal with politicians' recent preference for roundabouts as the preferred traffic control device? Simon's notion of “bounded rationality” is evoked, when it is suggested that traffic engineers deal with politics by restricting their world view to problem‐solving rather than system control.
GOING COMMERCIAL IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES*
Authors: Bashford Graham
Published: March 2008

The Department of Administrative Services of the Commonwealth government (DAS) was created in its present form as part of the July 1987 restructuring of Commonwealth departments. Functions came from nine hitherto separate departments, with the bulk of them transferring from Local Government and Administrative Services, Housing and Construction, and Science. The number of affected staff totalled 18,600: they were previously organised into 19 quite distinct groups with very little in common except that they were providing a service of some kind, predominantly to Commonwealth organisations.
MANAGERIALISM STRIKES OUT
Authors: Considine Mark
Published: March 2008

Corporate Management is in trouble. In the early 1980s when this approach first began to dominate thinking about reform, it was claimed that a new and comprehensive decision‐making framework based on total‐system efficiency would be put in place. A new age of leaner organisations, clearer objectives and greater accountability was promised. However the practical achievements of the framework which made these promises have so far been small, the costs high, and the means employed controversial. As a consequence the Corporate Management approach is currently suffering a crisis of confidence.
THE FORGOTTEN ROYAL COMMISSION: PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Authors: Holuer Michael G.N. , Peachment Allan
Published: March 2008

The publication Public Service Inquiries in Australia edited by R.F.I Smith and Patrick Weller (1978) concentrated on the wave of inquiries that swept Australia in the 1970s with most attention being given to the Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration (RCAGA). While the focus of the book was on contemporary developments, Roger Wettenhall's chapter 2 outlined “A Brief History of Public Service Inquiries” so as “to set the present generation of inquiries more firmly in a historical context” (1978, p.15).
AFTER EXCELLENCE: MODELS OF ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR
Authors: Sinclair Amanda
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Organisational culture is recognised as a critical ingredient of organisational effectiveness. However, the popular “excellence” model of managing organisational culture is unsuited to the contingencies and character of many public sector organisations. Termed here the cultural control model, it is the only widely shared understanding of good culture and haw to create it. As a generic prototype of culture it is limited, since it relies on management imposing a culture on a work force devoid of subcultural conflict. Three other models of organisational culture are introduced which offer more promise for the public sector: the subcultural model; the professional‐managerial multiculture; and the public service or public interest model. These other models recognise in the culture‐building strategies they prescribe that culture is deeply‐rooted and not readily malleable by management and that subcultures affect organisations in various, not necessarily negative, ways. While the cultural control model reminds us of the significance of culture to better management, subsequent research has refined models of organisational culture which are more Consistent with the values and ethics of professionalism and good administration.
PUSEY ON THE CANBERRA BUREAUCRACY: TWO PERSPECTIVES
Authors: Hamburger Peter , Power John
Published: March 2008

Michael Pusey's book titled Economic Rationalism in Canberra: A Nation Building State Changes its Mind (Cambridge University Press, Melbourne, 1991, 310 pp) was launched in Australia in August 1991. In view of the great interest shown in it, unprecedented for a book on a public administration topic in recent times, AJPA has sought reviews from both a practitioner and an academic.
MORE VALUABLE CONFERENCE BOOKS
Authors: Corbett David
Published: March 2008

Public Administration in Australia: A Watershed. Edited by JOHN POWER (Sydney: Hale & Iremonger in association with the Royal Australian Institute of Public Administration, 1990, 168 pp).

Decision Making in Australian Government: The Cabinet and Budget Processes. Edited by BRIAN GALLIGAN, J.R. NETHERCOTE and CLIFF WALSH (Canberra: Centre of Research on Federal Financial Relations and Royal Australian Institute of Public Administration, ACT Division 1990, 141 pp).

Budgetary Management and Control: The Public Sector in Australasia. Edited by JOHN FORSTER and JOHN WANNA (Melbourne, Macmillan, 1990, 206 pp).
REGULATORY POLICY DESIGN: COOPERATIVE VERSUS DETERRENT MANDATES
Authors: May Peter J. , Handmer JohnW.
Published: March 2008

Abstract: Two forms of regulatory policy design—“cooperative” and “deterrent” designs—are considered in the context of intergovernmental regulation of floodplains. Both types of design entail efforts by higher‐level governments to induce local‐level regulatory efforts. However, the approaches differ in terms of their underlying philosophies and in the extent to which they address local regulatory commitment and capacity. The contrast between the United States and New South Wales policies, and changes over time in the New South Wales policy, illustrate key points about the two types of policy design. The broader significance of this discussion concerns lessons for intergovernmental regulatory policy design.
A SOP TO THE “OI POLLOI”: CAPITAL, LABOUR AND THE REFORM OF NEW SOUTH WALES MARITIME ADMINISTRATION 1867 TO 1914
Authors: Robinson Geoffrey
Published: March 2008

Abstract: In 1867 NSW maritime services were rationalised by the formation of a Marine Board comprising government appointees and elected representatives of shipowners. Following several scandals relating to Marine Board administration and an inquiry by the new Public Service Board sitting as a Royal Commission, the Marine Board was replaced in 1899 by a Navigation Department. In 1900 Sydney wharfage was nationalised in response to the bubonic plague outbreak of 1899 and placed under the control of a Sydney Harbour Trust. This dual structure persisted throughout the pre‐war period. Calls came from the Greater Sydney movement for wharfage to be placed under the control of an enlarged city council, and from the labour movement of trust tenants and employees for the trust to operate on non‐commercial principles. These pressures were successfully resisted by the trust commissioners, despite the presence of a Labor government after 1910. In their administration the commissioners of the Trust favoured capital, but their image of technocratic impartiality enabled them to constrain Labor governments and to carry through substanial extensions of state activity when this was in the interests of capital as a whole.
PUBLIC MANAGEMENT OR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION?
Authors: Hughes Owen
Published: March 2008

Abstract: The debate over managerialism has been the most controversial issue in Australian public administration journals in recent years. Although most articles have been critical, there have been responses in favour of the changes by senior public servants. One unfortunate consequence of this debate has been the appearance of a gap between academic public administration and public service practice.

This paper argues that, from several angles, the work now carried out by public services is management rather than administration. It argues that managerialism is a long‐overdue reform to a model which has outlived its usefulness. The traditional model of public administration was an irrelevance for many years; it was never efficient or effective and deserved to be replaced. However, public management does not necessarily mean the widespread and uncritical adoption of practices from the private sector. What it should mean is that a distinctive public management needs to be developed. This should take account of the differences between the sectors, but still recognise that the work being done by public servants is now managerial rather than administrative.
NEGOTIATING HOUSING POLICY THE QUEENSLAND HOUSING COMMISSION AND FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, 1945–64
Authors: Hollander Robyn
Published: March 2008

Abstract: An examination of a single institution and its relationships with different levels of government can be used to question commonly held interpretations. This study of the Queensland Housing Commission (QHC) indicates that there is some need to reassess the effectiveness of tied grants as a mechanism for commonwealth intervention in areas of state concern. In Queensland, at least, the state government played a much more significant role in determining both the overall direction of the housing authority and its day‐to‐day operations. This suggests that the assumption that statutory authorities have some autonomy from direct government intervention may not always be appropriate. The weakness of local government in Australia is acknowledged but it is important to note that state government instrumentalities have contributed significantly to this weakness. This study of the QHC provides one example of how local autonomy can be compromised.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN AUSTRALIA 1981‐91: A FORM OF CORPORATISM?
Authors: McEachern D.
Published: March 2008

My personal view of conservation is a pragmatic one. Renewable resources provide the basis for much of our national income today and we are relying on them to continue to do so in years to come. Unless we conserve them for sustainable development it will be our children and their children who will pay the price of our neglect (Hawke 1984).
CEOs, POLICIES AND PUBLIC BODIES
Authors: Trollope David , Heatley Alistair
Published: March 2008

Abstract: The literature on statutory authorities has concentrated largely upon matters of structure and administrative arrangements. One significant dimension which has received scant treatment is the idiosyncratic role of chief executive officers in such organisations and their ability to capture both the agency and policy‐direction, often in ways immune from government control. This article mainly examines one example from the Northern Territory, the Darwin Trade Development Zone, but evidence is included to support the contention that similar processes occur in other statutory authorities both locally and elsewhere in Australia. It is argued that structural reforms cannot by themselves remedy the gap between expectation and policy‐delivery. Avenues for reform are discussed, including the more orthodox accountability linkages, and the conclusions drawn argue for greater attention to be given to the appropriateness of chief executive appointments within a context of more disciplined and coherent policy‐direction.
THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGY OF THE VICTORIAN COALITION GOVERNMENT
Authors: Robinson Marc
Published: March 2008

Abstract: This article reviews the budget sector financial management strategy of the Victorian Coalition government in the crucial period from its election in October 1992 up to the 1993–94 budget. The twin goals set by the Coalition were the elimination of the current account deficit, and the reduction of debt levels. Given infrastructure pressures, the debt reduction goal will be a difficult one to achieve. More precisely, it will be a difficult one to achieve without relying upon instruments such as assets sales, which the Coalition has viewed as artificial debt reduction techniques. The capital expenditure plans embodied in the 1993–94 state budget were not consistent with the debt reduction plans specified only months earlier by the Coalition. Victoria's debt levels are quite moderate even by OECD standards. What makes debt levels a real issue for the state is the narrowness of the tax bases of the Australian states, and the fact that Victoria is taxing at something like its maximum levels (at least, without coordinated multi‐state tax increases). It is argued that, if the states could be confident that their revenue positions would hold firm (concretely, that revenue and grants as a proportion of GSP would remain constant), the appropriate debt policy goal for Victoria would be stabilisation — rather than reduction — of its debt/GSP ratio. However, the foreshadowed trend reduction of real commonwealth grants, as part of the so‐called national savings campaign, makes it appropriate for Victoria — given the circumstances in which it finds itself — to target the reduction of debt/GSP levels.
RESEARCH NOTE: “THE STUBBORN SILENCE OF PETRONIUS ARBITER”1
Authors: Davis Glyn
Published: March 2008

We trained hard — but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising, and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.

From Petronii Arbitri Satyricon, AD 66, attributed to Gaius Petronius.
POLICY COMMUNITY, POLICY NETWORKS AND SCIENCE POLICY IN AUSTRALIA
Authors: Homeshaw Judith
Published: March 2008

Abstract: The policy community approach to policy analysis has been developed from ideas expressed by Richardson and Jordan in 1979. The approach is increasingly used to identify the key actors and groups of actors who make policy decisions, to analyse the interactions between the groups and to hypothesise about the types of outcomes achieved. The approach aids analysis in policy contexts which cut across the boundaries of individual organisations in the policy process, across the public and private sectors, and beyond national boundaries. This paper evaluates several expositions of the approach with reference to an analysis of science policy in Australia and suggests typological refinements which enhance its explanatory capacity.
ACCRUAL ACCOUNTING VALUATIONS AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT: A POTENTIALLY PERNICIOUS UNION
Authors: Aiken M. , Capitanio C.
Published: March 2008

Abstract: With the movement towards decentralisation of control over governmental trading activities much attention has been placed by politicians and economists on a loosely attached rate of return control philosophy. Independent boards are appointed to government business entities, generally comprising business managers and private sector directors who are experienced in profit generation and micro‐ economic planning. This thrust has now been facilitated by accounting standards with a private sector orientation. These favour accrual valuations with their associated resource allocations and guidelines for funds distribution. However, the extent of the subjectivity introduced by such measures has now placed many parliamentary conventions at risk. Such subjectivity also contributes to the lack of goal congruence and financial control in government which in turn can counteract macroeconomic planning and control as this is at present practised and understood. This paper examines normatively some of the theoretical defects and conventional heresies associated with these new allocative and distributional arrangements.
Managerialism, Politics and Legal Bureaucratic Rationality in Immigration Policy
Authors: Tsokhas Kosmas
Published: March 2008

Against claims that public sector reforms have made the functions of managers similar to those in private firms, critics of the managerialist model point to constraints on public sector managers that make their decisions on resource allocation and policy development different from those affecting corporations. Through an examination of policy formulation, program management and decision‐making in the Department of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, this article demonstrates that managerialist program planning, outcome orientation and performance measurement have been introduced, but that this has not precluded an expansion in non‐market oriented routine, non‐discretionary decision‐making involving bureaucratic legal rationality within a legislative and regulatory framework. While some clients have been defined and assessed in terms of economic criteria, they access departmental processing not in terms of market signals, but according to their compliance with the Migration Act and Migration Regulations. Managerialism has not occurred at the expense of classical administrative practices, rather managerialist and legal bureaucratic forms have both grown and influenced political calculations on policy‐making.
Talking to Fishers
Authors: Kesteven G L
Published: March 2008

This review deals with papers distributed at meetings of administrators and research workers with fishers of the South East Trawl Fishery. The circumstances of the meetings are noted; a brief account is given of the papers and an examination is made of their effectiveness in serving the ostensive consultative purposes of the meetings. In respect of the issues raised — and those neglected — both the documents and the meeting procedures are judged to have been wanting.
Does Australia Still Need State Governments?— An Exchange
Authors: Goss Wayne , Plumridge David
Published: March 2008

These two perspectives on the need for state governments were presented to the RIPAA National Conference on 30 November 1995, Brisbane.
Intergovernmental Relations: Ensuring Informed Cooperation in Strategic Policy Development
Authors: Hendy Peter
Published: March 2008

COAG was formed out of a concern by commonwealth, state and territory governments to improve intergovernmental cooperation. In particular, COAG allowed leaders and central agencies to discuss and coordinate policy frameworks from a whole‐of‐government perspective. It also has increased the prospects of further reform to Australia's political system in the areas of financial arrangements, international treaties and constitutional reform.
Organisational Structures in the Australian Public Service
Authors: Matheson Craig
Published: March 2008

This article examines the nature of the organisational structures found within the Australian Public service (APS). Four basic dimensions of organisational structure are distinguished: the degree of formalisation or bureaucratisation, the degree of differentiation or specialisation, hierarchy and the extent of centralisation. The article will show that variations in the organisational structure of the APS are attributable to a range of factors including the political context, size, task complexity, the grading system, considerations of efficiency and political factors. The relative importance of these factors varies according to which aspect of structure is examined. Mechanistic organisational structures predominate in the APS due to the nature of the tasks performed, the imperatives of political control and the requirements of staff classification.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the New Regime
Authors: Fels Allan
Published: March 2008

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the national regulator in the new competition regime. It acts as the public guardian against anti‐competitive or unfair business activities. The ACCC's task is to promote competition where it is limited; to preserve competition where it is effective; and to safeguard the position of consumers in their dealings with business. Its efforts are directed primarily at fostering business compliance with the national competition and consumer law, the Trade Practices Act 1974. The commission tries to persuade, coax or cajole businesses into pursuing their interests within the legally defined boundaries of fair competition. Where that proves insufficient, the commission becomes the enforcer. The ACCC can coerce businesses — through court orders and penalties — into rectifying their behaviour where they operate outside the boundaries of the law. It also has the capacity to hold businesses publicly accountable for the prices they set. Underlying these ACCC functions is an ulterior objective: to enhance the material welfare of Australians by promoting, wherever practical, a more competitive and efficient economy.
Why National Competition Policy?
Authors: Thomas Claire
Published: March 2008

Strategies to enhance Australia's international competitiveness need to embrace reform of key infrastructure service industries, reform of the regulatory environment, industrial relations reform and taxation reform. Key aspects of this reform agenda can only be addressed through a shared commitment by all levels of government. Ownership of the public utilities responsible for the nation's key infrastructure networks and services is divided among commonwealth, state and territory (and local) governments. Achieving a substantial lift in the productivity of these industries and ensuring the emergence of truly national infrastructure networks relies on agreement by all governments to public utility reform and the removal of barriers to cross‐border competition. Moreover, the regulation of industries, occupations and businesses is primarily the responsibility of state and territory governments, hence regulatory reform also requires a cooperative approach by all governments.

While most jurisdictions have taken some steps to reform public utilities and to deregulate certain product markets, to date reform has been piecemeal. A more systematic approach to removal of impediments to competition across the board is likely to be necessary to lift the overall competitiveness of the Australian economy. The agreement by the commonwealth and all states and territories to implement the National Competition Policy (NCP) not only provides the necessary shared commitment to reform across the board, it also provides the rewards and sanctions needed to sustain that commitment in the face of certain resistance from vested interests.
The Future of Australian Public Services
Authors: Baxter Ken
Published: March 2008

It is very rare for the stars in the political firmament to come together at one time so as to create a situation where the two major eastern states and the Commonwealth will be election free, barring accidents, for three years. It is an opportunity which is rarely provided and should be grasped immediately if Australia is to continue on the path of reform and establish an enduring position in the West Pacific Basin region as well as delivering improved living standards to its people.
A Successful Transition? ACT Public Finances Under Self‐government
Authors: Hughes David , Albon Robert
Published: March 2008

Generous Commonwealth funding before self‐government in 1989 meant that the ACT enjoyed high government expenditures and low taxation compared with the states. Self‐government meant a transition to normal state funding, ultimately involving substantial reductions in Commonwealth grants. Successive governments aligned taxes with other jurisdictions, but failed to reduce expenditures, which remained well above Commonwealth Grants Commission (CGC) assessments of levels necessary to provide a standard level of services. The fiscal position — however measured — has worsened. The transition to normal funding has been unsuccessful and, without the necessary adjustments, a heavy burden will be placed on future Canberrans.
Virtual Government: What Will Remain Inside the Public Sector?
Authors: Sturgess Gary
Published: March 2008

Around the world, the public sector is changing in ways which challenge the Weberian or bureaucratic paradigm. If we are to comprehend these changes, we must abandon the binary model of public and private sectors and better understand the non‐state public sector. Looking to historical and international examples, this article asks what has to remain inside the state. While acknowledging that there are significant drivers for reform, it argues that the size of government — large or small — should not be a matter of ideology.
Corporatisation and Community Service Obligations: Are They Incompatible?
Authors: Martin Jacqueline
Published: March 2008

This article asks whether corporatisation is compatible with the notion of community service obligations (CSOs). Corporatisation provides only a minimal framework for the identification of social objectives as CSOs and their funding by government from budget. The community has certain expectations of utilities in relation to CSOs, which may be different from expectations held by governments. Models of corporatisation which have two shareholding ministers with competing objectives introduce a further potential source of conflict.

Historically, the characteristics of a CSO are ambiguous (IC 1991:81) and this presents difficulty in their costing and identification. Governments and corporatised entities have attempted to clarify the issues of definition, identification and costing. These and other issues such as transparency, budget funding, coverage, jurisdiction, public interest and community spirit are discussed in the context of corporatised government electricity utilities.
Equal Opportunity Units: Change Agencies
Authors: Shoemark Lyn
Published: March 2008

Should equity programs be centralised or ‘mainstreamed’? Drawing on experience in universities, and on a 1990 report for the Affirmative Action Agency, this contribution argues for recognition of important preconditions before devolution of equity responsibilities.

The author has worked in the area of equal opportunity at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and its predecessor institution, Kuringai College of Advanced Education, since 1988. During that time, universities have undergone a transformation, with the integration of the Colleges of Advanced Education and the Institutes of Technology into the ‘unified national system’ of higher education. There has been an increased emphasis, at least partly driven by financial constraints, on the efficiency and effectiveness of management within universities.
Hong Kong: Administrative Reform and Recent Public Sector Changes — The Institutionalisation of New Values
Authors: Lee Grace O.M. , Huque Ahmed Shafiqul
Published: March 2008

Public sector management in Hong Kong is facing major challenges as the territory has undergone substantial changes in the past four decades. A small government, following a policy of nonintervention in a colonial setting, has resulted in a highly structured system whereby it is more convenient to plan and coordinate administrative activities. This centralised structure and the prevailing role culture have combined to facilitate the implementation and institutionalisation of changes in the public service. Considering the experience and activities of selected government departments, it appears that there is a move toward more accountability and a consumer‐oriented approach to public sector management in Hong Kong. The new initiatives appear to be consistent with the needs and mood of the society and seem likely to persist in the future, despite an element of uncertainty stemming from the reversal of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China.
South Korea: Searching for a New Direction of Administrative Reform
Authors: Pan Suk Kim
Published: March 2008

Government has never been under greater stress all around the world. Fundamental change is occurring at all levels of government. The need to cope with the rapid globalisation of the economy, the so‐called borderless economy, and to maintain international competitiveness drives public management reforms. Governments must perform at higher levels of quality and productivity than ever before. The Gore Report, for example, constitutes a major attack on the bureaucratic management paradigm in the United States and its values of entrepreneurial managerialism dominate administrative practices around the world for the time being. This article first identifies a new management paradigm. Then it explores some international experiences with administrative reform in a comparative perspective to suggest a new direction of administrative reform for the future in South Korea.
Japan: The Prospects for Public Sector Change
Authors: Elliott Jim
Published: March 2008

There have been some public sector changes in Japan, especially since 1981. The changes have contributed to the country's outstanding economic development. Recent events, however, question whether these changes have been sufficient and whether the sector is meeting the needs of Japanese society today.

Many of Japan's political, economic and social certainties disappeared in the 1990s including automatic economic growth and the 38 year reign of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party government. These developments and events such as the Kobe earthquake, the HIV blood contamination scandal and the collapse of financial institutions suggest that a more fundamental reform of the public sector is still required.
A Primary Industry Perspective
Authors: O'Sullivan Mark H
Published: March 2008

This article develops a case for taking a broad perspective on the benefits generated from government involvement in international services. In particular it shows how government scientists and other officers, through involvement in exporting government services, can gain and maintain important scientific knowledge, and access genetic material from overseas. These activities may be vital for the establishment of new industries, as well as maintaining production efficiency in the private sector.

The article further illustrates, through a case study, the unique role for government in assisting the private sector open up trade opportunities. In the case study example this was facilitated through sourcing overseas technology to treat mangos for fruit fly, and then after extensive testing and scientific work negotiating the removal of quarantine barriers to gain access to the lucrative Japanese market.
Who Said Production Was Simple?: Delineating the ‘Public Production Process’
Authors: Alford John
Published: March 2008

This is a response to Robert Gregory's discussion of the author's article ‘Towards a New Public Management Model’, AJPA 52(2). It argues that Gregory has misunderstood the rationale of the author's ‘public production process’ model. He misrepresents the model as simplistic and as understating the complexities of politics in public administration. As a result, the potential promise of Gregory's alternative conception is inadequately realised.
Understanding Minister–Bureaucrat Relations: Applying Multi‐Theoretic Approaches in Public Management
Authors: Laffin Martin
Published: March 2008

The study of public management has remained theoretically limited. This article tests out the value of a multi‐theoretical approach as applied to one area of public management research — minister–bureaucrat relationships. Three models are identified — agency theory, bureaucratic politics and institutionalism. All three models are shown to provide valuable insights into the relationship and I argue that this example indicates considerable scope for the further development of mulit‐theoretical approaches within public management.
After the Reforms: Some Patterns of Attitudinal Change among Senior Public Servants in Canberra and Wellington
Authors: Gregory Robert
Published: March 2008

Major public sector changes in Australia and New Zealand over the past decade have produced significant shifts in the beliefs, training and outlook of public servants. Using data from surveys in 1986–87 and 1994–95, this article tracks key attitudinal changes. It finds more marked change in Wellington than in Canberra, perhaps reflecting the more radical public sector agenda on that side of the Tasman
Performance Monitoring Public Services in Australia
Authors: AO Bill Scales
Published: March 2008

The Industry Commission, the former Bureau of Industry Economics and the Economic Planning Advisory Commission have amalgamated on an administrative basis to prepare for the formation of the Productivity Commission. Legislation establishing the new commission is before parliament.

The Industry Commission has been involved in a number of projects that monitor the performance of a range of government services across Australia. The first monitors the performance of a large number of Australia's major government trading enterprises and the second has begun the process of monitoring the performance of a range of government service providers.

This article outlines why measuring and monitoring performance can be used to improve public sector performance and provides two examples of how this tool can successfully be used in practice.