Testing the appetite for federal reform
by Sarah Binney
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN Premier Jay Weatherill has used an address to the National Press Club last week to outline a range of reform options across infrastructure, health, education and housing that he will be taking to Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Leader’s Retreat on 22nd July.
Mr. Weatherill is proposing a suite of reforms intended to deliver higher quality services to Australians in addition to new revenue streams designed to cover an $80 billion shortfall in hospital and education funding to the states.
The ‘South Australian plan’ advocates a reapportionment of responsibilities within the Federation and focuses on building a ‘high-technology and clean-technology economy’.
The release of the Premier’s position papers a fortnight out from much anticipated negotiations concerning the White Paper on Reform of the Federation might seem like an interesting anomaly. South Australia — one of Australia’s ‘smaller’ states — appears to be asserting a leadership role in the federation debate, even challenging other government leaders to ‘put aside ideological differences and forget about petty point scoring’.
The Premier has argued states and territories are “the next frontiers for reform” and that South Australia is destined to shape their own future and “not be beholden to others”. It appears Weatherill is keen to take a leadership role on policy and federal reform as did his predecessors Dunstan, Bannon and Rann.
Premier Weatherill’s reform proposals cover four key areas:
Education
Mr. Weatherill is proposing a demarcation of Commonwealth and State responsibilities in education. Under the scheme, the State Government would be responsible for education, from birth to secondary school, including childcare.
Alternatively, the Commonwealth would oversee higher education, vocational education and training.
The plan is to make States and Territories ‘single-system managers’ of early childhood development. “At the moment, State governments engage with children from birth to about age one through antenatal services, health checks and immunisations,” Weatherill said.
The proposal sees States oversee policy, regulation and the delivery of public services across these areas, with the Commonwealth responsible for a single block-funding grant or ongoing funding transfer through existing Gonski arrangements.
“Given that the principal focus of the Gonski reforms was the adequate funding of the bottom 20% of students with learning needs, all the evidence suggests this objective will be greatly assisted by starting earlier.”
The Premier argued that the current system sees learning problems become entrenched by schooling age, resulting in long term healthcare costs for the State.
Health
Weatherill also proposes a shift toward disease prevention and early intervention — with a particular focus on diabetes which affects 1.7 million Australians — and advocates for reduced health care services in hospitals.
He instead suggests delivering health care services in primary and community care settings or in a patient’s home.
Weatherill said the health system requires a sharing of responsibilities between State and Federal governments and has highlighted the need for greater inter-governmental collaboration. This view has been further reinforced by his consultation with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews about implementing nationwide reform of the health system.
This shared responsibility would see governments jointly accountable through measurable improvements to people’s health, with Weatherill citing the “Transforming Health” agenda as a basis for reform.
“ … in relation to accountability, the focus should not be on the acquittal of funding but on the measurable improvements in people’s health” Mr. Weatherill reminded the audience.
Infrastructure
The Premier is floating a restructure of road user charges to generate revenue for road improvements. He said taxation revenue has become increasingly insufficient for freight transport infrastructure investment and that South Australia would be willing to trial heavy vehicle road user charge. This would see freight companies charged based on the mass, distance and locations that heavy vehicles travelled.
“I don’t think Australians care too much who builds our roads. They just want them built in a timely fashion, according to some rational set of priorities and at a reasonable cost,” he said.
“Such a scheme has the potential to result in better roads, with users paying for the roads they’re actually using and the roads that can support higher-productivity freight vehicles”.
Data from the SA trial would inform the introduction of a national charging scheme.
Housing
Premier Weatherill wants to see a shift from demand-side subsidies in housing — such as the first homeowners grant and Commonwealth rent allowances — to a focus on lifting housing supply.
He argues for access to funding streams from these subsidies, which would enable State governments to respond to changing needs in the housing market.
“The aim would be to redress the current imbalance in the market between investors and owner-occupiers, create realistic pathways from rent to ownership, and provide stability and security — from first homeowners through to the elderly,” he said.
Despite record low interest rates, Mr. Weatherill cited difficulty in entering the housing market, rental stress for 40% of low income households, and demand for smaller homes as factors for the State. He said Commonwealth housing subsidies are often bid away in higher house prices and rent.
Additionally, Weatherill also wants to make States and Territories ‘single system managers’ of housing and homelessness assistance citing “ … closer day-to-day dealings with communities than the Commonwealth’ would establish a clearer link between resources and results, and would provide local solutions to local needs,”.
Implementing reform measures
Premier Weatherill notes that implementing an ambitious reform agenda will be challenging in the current political climate. He said achieving long term efficiency through his proposed reforms will only be possible through a “reform of our democracy”.
“The 24-hour news cycle and its insatiable demand for sensational content has transformed politicians from leaders of public debate into performing circus animals,” and that “For too long, politicians have been too timid in the face of what we imagine to be public opinion.”
Weatherill’s push for constructive conversations about reform imperatives is a positive and necessary step moving into the leader’s retreat.
We can only hope his assertion that a new era of genuinely engaging people — of “debate and decide” politics over “announce and defend” — is permitted to come to fruition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SARAH BINNEY
Sarah Binney is a freelance Journalist and Research Assistant at Griffith University.
Sarah is interested in the complex relationship between media and politics and explored this in her thesis on media portrayals of Queensland’s 2011 Civil Partnerships Bill.
