Federalism and Regionalism in Australia : New Approaches, New Institutions?

Australia’s federal system is in a state of flux and its relevance is being challenged. Dramatic shifts are occurring in the ways in which power and responsibility are shared between governments. Pressure for reform is coming not just from above, but from below, as the needs of local and regional communities - both rural and urban - occupy an increasingly important place on the national stage. How will these competing pressures for centralisation and devolution in the structures of federalism be reconciled? In this volume, experts and policy practitioners from diverse backgrounds canvass this uncertain future to conclude that the future of state, regional and local institutions is not only a vital question of federal governance, but must be addressed in a conscious and concerted way if Australian federalism is to evolve in ways that are sufficiently legitimate, effective, efficient and adaptive. Federalism and Regionalism in Australia......Page 1 Table of Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Contributors......Page 11 Part 1. Setting the Scene: Old Questions or New?......Page 15 The symposium......Page 17 Part 1: Setting the scene......Page 18 Part 2: Drivers for change......Page 19 Part 3: New institutions?......Page 20 Introduction......Page 25 Ships in the night? ‘State-regionalism’ and ‘region-regionalism’......Page 27 A centralised system......Page 30 Political legitimacy......Page 32 Political devolution not a newly identified problem......Page 33 Deliberative culture......Page 35 A dynamic and changing system......Page 36 Conclusions: five lessons for contemporary institutional design......Page 38 References......Page 44 Introduction......Page 47 Idle speculation or a more general query? Federalism and public opinion in Queensland and NSW......Page 49 Looking for differences: what determines citizens’ interest in change?......Page 57 In conclusion: a new window on the feasibility of reform......Page 65 References......Page 67 Part 2. Drivers for Change: New Approaches to Federalism and Regionalism......Page 69 Introduction......Page 71 Rural Australia and the need for reform......Page 72 Investing in rural sustainability......Page 75 Towards a wider debate on regional governance......Page 80 References......Page 82 An urban nation in denial......Page 85 Two conclusions about the Commonwealth’s urban interests......Page 87 The prospects for Commonwealth urban policy......Page 88 Towards a new urban regionalism?......Page 92 References......Page 95 Introduction......Page 97 Rapid population growth rates: amenity migration......Page 98 Tourism......Page 99 Sea change communities: a social transition......Page 101 Coastal governance: a dysfunctional system?......Page 102 A way forward?......Page 104 References......Page 106 Introduction......Page 109 Sustainability: an evolving policy concept......Page 110 Addressing sustainability: through a natural resource management lens......Page 111 NRM as a wicked problem......Page 112 New NRM Governance: a response to a failed system?......Page 114 Complexity and capacity......Page 115 Multi-layered, fragmented and ad hoc......Page 116 Shift to a regional focus: regional delivery for NRM......Page 120 The way forward: a question of adaptive capacity?......Page 122 References......Page 125 Introduction......Page 133 A fragmented framework for regional development......Page 134 Scale and regional development......Page 137 Regions: an ex-urban phenomenon?......Page 138 Employment loss at Mitsubishi Motors Australia: a regional crisis?......Page 140 Regional responses......Page 141 Conclusion: can Australia achieve an efficient framework for regional development?......Page 145 References......Page 146 Introduction......Page 149 Principles for more effective governance......Page 150 New approaches in health policy and services......Page 154 The new regional level in health: new institutions?......Page 159 Conclusions: systemic reform or ad hocracy?......Page 164 References......Page 165 Part 3. New Institutions? Approaching the Challenge of Reform......Page 167 Introduction......Page 169 State governments......Page 170 Big business......Page 171 Solutions: incremental or radical?......Page 172 Subsidiarity revisited......Page 174 Regional approaches......Page 176 Institutionalising cooperative federalism......Page 177 Conclusions......Page 181 References......Page 182 Introduction......Page 185 Local government and federalism: a need for change......Page 186 Strengthening regional governance: empowering local government......Page 187 Fair funding......Page 190 Fair treatment......Page 192 Formal recognition......Page 193 Conclusion: reconfiguring the federation......Page 194 References......Page 195 Introduction......Page 199 The historical context......Page 200 The regionalism trail......Page 202 Towards new thinking on regions: recognising federal centralism......Page 203 Components of an effective federal-regional response......Page 207 No states......Page 210 New states......Page 211 Towards a new option......Page 212 References......Page 213 Introduction......Page 215 Change agendas and the need for a focus on functions by level......Page 216 Expenditure responsibilities......Page 220 Intergovernmental grants......Page 222 Insights from local government amalgamation literature......Page 223 Previous attempts at evaluating net benefits of change......Page 225 Conclusion: towards a sound evaluation framework......Page 230 References......Page 232 Chapter 14: Where To From Here? Principles for a New Debate......Page 239 Appendix - Reform of Australia’s Federal System: Identifying the Benefits......Page 245 federalism-appendix-04.pdf......Page 0 Reform of Australia’s Federal System Identifying the Benefits......Page 247 Table of Contents......Page 251 Australian federalism – a troubled history......Page 253 Evaluating the options – the need for a framework......Page 254 Where to from here......Page 255 A framework for evaluation......Page 256 1. Introduction......Page 257 Pressures for centralisation......Page 258 Pressures for decentralisation......Page 259 The ‘New’ Regionalism?......Page 260 Short-term options (administrative)......Page 262 Long-term options (constitutional)......Page 263 A two-tiered system based on local government......Page 264 What do Australians think about these options?......Page 267 4. Evaluating the options – the need for a framework......Page 268 5. A framework for evaluation......Page 273 Preliminary conclusions......Page 287 7. References......Page 288 "Australia's federal system of governance is in a state of flux, and its relevance in a globalised world is being challenged. After decades of debate about different possibilities for institutional reform - some of them predating Federation itself - dramatic shifts are occurring in the way in which power and responsibility are shared between federal, state and local governments, and in the emergence of an increasingly important 'fourth sphere' of governance at the regional level of Australian society. For those who fear a continuing growth in the power of the Commonwealth Government, the shifting state of federalism may seem unwelcome; but whether we see state governments as in decline or a new ascendancy, the fact remains that in the early 21st century, subnational regionalism is a live issue amid the practical realities of Australian public policy. Far from simple questions of local administration, the effectiveness, legitimacy and efficiency of new regional approaches are 'big ticket' issues on the contemporary political landscape. The management of our cities, of our sea-change regions, of natural resources through regions of every type, of hospitals and health services across the Australian community; these are all issues focussing the attention of decision-makers and communities from the top to the bottom of our system of government. In May 2006, around 100 experts with diverse experiences in public policy, academic research and community arenas from across eastern Australia came together in Parliament House, Sydney, New South Wales, to discuss current shifts in the relationship between federalism and subnational regionalism, their implications for existing institutions of government, and the directions in which public institutions could and should evolve as a result of these new approaches. The symposium 'Federalism and Regionalism in Australia: New Approaches, New Institutions?',1 resulted in a broad consensus that traditional institutional frameworks are indeed changing, in response to the quest for more adaptive, effective, legitimate and efficient forms of governance. The main question put to the symposium, was whether it was also time to start addressing how new regional approaches fitted into overall trends in institutional restructuring and reform affecting the Australian public sector, rather than simply noting and tracking a plethora of developments that otherwise remain fundamentally ad hoc. The consensus arising was, again, that the answer was 'yes'. The policy 'drivers' behind new governance approaches were identified as not simply national, but also, at the same time, fundamentally local and regional in nature. As a result, this volume, based on papers and presentations given to the symposium, is intended as a first step towards understanding these new trajectories of Australian federalism and regionalism. The purpose of the volume is to test - and confirm - two basic propositions about the future of Australian federalism. The first is that the evolution of state, regional and local institutions has become a vital issue for the future of federal governance. In other words, making federalism work is not simply a matter of continual improvement in public administration, or fine-tuning intergovernmental relations between the Commonwealth and existing State governments, but a question of structural reform involving the distribution of roles, responsibilities and governance capacities throughout our system of government. The second proposition is that this question needs to be addressed in a conscious and concerted way, through a program of informed restructuring, if the federal system is to be made adequately legitimate, effective, adaptive and efficient in the medium to long term. These propositions immediately inspire a lot of questions. What do we mean by adequacy, when it comes to goals such as legitimacy, effectiveness, adaptiveness, and efficiency? What types of reform are we talking about? What path of reform are we on already, if we are on one? What research is needed to better inform that path? The chapters in this volume provide the basis for a more informed debate by fleshing out these questions and, in many cases, providing clearer answers. While a variety of suggestions are made, no specific institutional prescription arises from this discussion about how federalism should be reformed. Indeed, it is a strength of these chapters that all the contributors argue, directly or indirectly, for a new debate which better establishes the common principles that reform proposals need to address, in order to establish a more coherent direction for the federal system. Together these chapters set out multiple examples of the current 'drivers' for reform, including a range of new approaches and imperatives in regional policy, against a background of old and new institutional options for the strengthening of local and regional governance in Australian federalism."--Provided by publisher "Australia's federal system of governance is in a state of flux, and its relevance in a globalised world is being challenged. After decades of debate about different possibilities for institutional reform - some of them predating Federation itself - dramatic shifts are occurring in the way in which power and responsibility are shared between federal, state and local governments, and in the emergence of an increasingly important 'fourth sphere' of governance at the regional level of Australian society. For those who fear a continuing growth in the power of the Commonwealth Government, the shifting state of federalism may seem unwelcome; but whether we see state governments as in decline or a new ascendancy, the fact remains that in the early 21st century, subnational regionalism is a live issue amid the practical realities of Australian public policy. Far from simple questions of local administration, the effectiveness, legitimacy and efficiency of new regional approaches are 'big ticket' issues on the contemporary political landscape. The management of our cities, of our sea-change regions, of natural resources through regions of every type, of hospitals and health services across the Australian community; these are all issues focussing the attention of decision-makers and communities from the top to the bottom of our system of government. In May 2006, around 100 experts with diverse experiences in public policy, academic research and community arenas from across eastern Australia came together in Parliament House, Sydney, New South Wales, to discuss current shifts in the relationship between federalism and subnational regionalism, their implications for existing institutions of government, and the directions in which public institutions could and should evolve as a result of these new approaches. The symposium 'Federalism and Regionalism in Australia: New Approaches, New Institutions?', 1 resulted in a broad consensus that traditional institutional frameworks are indeed changing, in response to the quest for more adaptive, effective, legitimate and efficient forms of governance. The main question put to the symposium, was whether it was also time to start addressing how new regional approaches fitted into overall trends in institutional restructuring and reform affecting the Australian public sector, rather than simply noting and tracking a plethora of developments that otherwise remain fundamentally ad hoc. The consensus arising was, again, that the answer was 'yes'. The policy 'drivers' behind new governance approaches were identified as not simply national, but also, at the same time, fundamentally local and regional in nature. As a result, this volume, based on papers and presentations given to the symposium, is intended as a first step towards understanding these new trajectories of Australian federalism and regionalism. The purpose of the volume is to test - and confirm - two basic propositions about the future of Australian federalism. The first is that the evolution of state, regional and local institutions has become a vital issue for the future of federal governance. In other words, making federalism work is not simply a matter of continual improvement in public administration, or fine-tuning intergovernmental relations between the Commonwealth and existing State governments, but a question of structural reform involving the distribution of roles, responsibilities and governance capacities throughout our system of government. The second proposition is that this question needs to be addressed in a conscious and concerted way, through a program of informed restructuring, if the federal system is to be made adequately legitimate, effective, adaptive and efficient in the medium to long term. These propositions immediately inspire a lot of questions. What do we mean by adequacy, when it comes to goals such as legitimacy, effectiveness, adaptiveness, and efficiency? What types of reform are we talking about? What path of reform are we on already, if we are on one? What research is needed to better inform that path? The chapters in this volume provide the basis for a more informed debate by fleshing out these questions and, in many cases, providing clearer answers. While a variety of suggestions are made, no specific institutional prescription arises from this discussion about how federalism should be reformed. Indeed, it is a strength of these chapters that all the contributors argue, directly or indirectly, for a new debate which better establishes the common principles that reform proposals need to address, in order to establish a more coherent direction for the federal system. Together these chapters set out multiple examples of the current 'drivers' for reform, including a range of new approaches and imperatives in regional policy, against a background of old and new institutional options for the strengthening of local and regional governance in Australian federalism."--Provided bypublisher

Australia's federal system is in a state of flux and its relevance is being challenged. Dramatic shifts are occurring in the ways in which power and responsibility are shared between governments. Pressure for reform is coming not just from above, but from below, as the needs of local and regional communities – both rural and urban –