Paul Keating used to take every opportunity to label Joe Hockey a dill. Joe has since proved to be anything but.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett has received the same treatment over the last 18 months, and things have escalated.
Sure there’s a principle of Ministerial accountability, but Garrett has been hung out to dry over the home insulation program.
I stated in this column six months ago that the program was flawed. My concerns were that, apart from being a blatant case of government deciding what’s best for a houseowner, the fast tracking would cut across safety and liability issues.
My sixth sense was based on the experience of the Building and Construction Industry Reform Strategy during the 1990s. That program’s aim was quite different to the Rudd Government’s latest effort, but it provided some very good pointers.
First, the details were thrashed out over nine months by industry associations, unions, prime contractors, their subcontractors and DAS (the Feds’ own construction arm). Secondly, the States were fully onside. Thirdly, a succession of Federal Ministers (Beddall, Crean, Schacht, Bolkus) championed the program. Fourthly, the Feds had a Board of industry and union leaders to deflect the heat.
Fast forward to the home insulation program. No real partnerships or buy in from the industry players. No Board. No evidence that Department of Environment (DoE) officials understood the issues. No evidence of other Federal agencies helping DoE to sort things out – in any case, DAS has disappeared as has the expertise in the Industry Department.
In my opinion, the main lesson from this monumental stuff up has not surfaced, namely that people with strong right brain tendencies like Garrett need to be appreciated, nurtured and watched. They are full of ideas and energy, but frustrated by detail and process. Whitlam, Gorton and Keating are past examples, and Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and Barnaby Joyce are looming as other current examples.
Raving right brainers should not be anywhere near program delivery.
OK, so who are the left brainers who love the detail and the process?
Well John Faulkner and Greg Combet currently fit the bill, hence it’s good to see Combet now in charge of the insulation cleanup.
On the Opposition side, the three former Howard Government Ministers – Kevin Andrews, Bronwyn Bishop and Philip Ruddock – exhibit strong left brain tendencies. I suspect Greg Hunt is in their team too.
Some fortunate folk have a balance of left and right brain tendencies. Rudd, Hawke and Turnbull would be my nominations. Perhaps even Howard.
But getting back to Garrett, he showed fortitude and eloquence under pressure during Question Time and countless media interviews. He is passionate about the environmental cause, and has great empathy with our youth.
Let’s appreciate him for what he is.
Bella Vista futures hub – Baulkham Hill’s point of difference
Last month I argued that every region, town and city needs to build on its competitive advantages to create points of difference. And governments and the private sector should collaborate to this end. So this month, we focus on a project in Baulkham Hills, 25 kilometres northwest of the Sydney CBD.
The Hills Shire Council includes Norwest Park – a business park that is the headquarters of many top shelf companies, including Woolworths, Coles, IBM, Bunnings, Schneider, Westpac, Fitness First, Australia Post, Wyeth and ResMed.
The project concept I’m excited about is a Futures Hub at Bella Vista Farm Park. The land area is 24 hectares and it is literally located across the road from Norwest Park. It has the original farm homestead with cottages, coach house and farm store.
I initially got involved in identifying how the Jobs Fund might be accessed to upgrade some of the buildings, but we moved past this to the concept of a Futures Hub, which would involve lots of experiential learning using the old and new buildings – for example, educational nodes, a restaurant employing underprivileged local youth, a convention centre for company meetings and conferences, a tourism interpretive centre and so forth.
The theme would span from the first European settlement, when wool barons, John and Elizabeth Macarthur, farmed the property, through to the 21st Century. People of all ages and backgrounds would enjoy social and cultural events that help us live harmoniously on the planet.
It would be owned and operated by a Foundation on behalf of ambassadors, who would include the CEOs of the multinationals over the road.
Watch this space!
Concerning Federal grants
The flurry of Federal grants is coming to a close and there are some salutary lessons for councils. Based on our experience in preparing such submissions and tracking various others, four problem areas consistently came to the fore:
- No real commitment. A lot
of councils haven’t been
that serious, seemingly
lobbing in a submission in
case they get lucky. - Insufficient hurt money.
The Feds often ask for shared
funding, but many councils
fail to factor in the possibility
of a State contribution. If a
State bureaucrat says there
is no funding, go to the
Minister in the context of
next year’s funding. - Lack of follow up. Lodging
the submission is just the
first step. In competitive
funding programs, you have
every right to use your local
champions. See Orbost
example below. - Lack of joint partners. Did
you see the Rudd-Rann
joint press conference in late
February when they used the
word ‘partnership’ a
ridiculous number of times?
If it’s good enough for them –
and corporate partners look
even better.
Orbost’s famous hardmen
With a population of under 3,000 people and at the end of the Gippsland cul-de-sac (as Bill Kelty used to call it), Orbost has been doing it tough due to the forestry rationalisation. But it’s a nice place, with good pubs.
We were recently mulling about how small towns can exert a bit more influence, and we thought of Orbost because it is the home of two hardmen of politics – Peter Nixon (Nationals’ deputy leader in the 1960s and 1970s) and Lindsay Tanner (current Labor Finance Minister). The local Independent member in the Victorian Parliament is Craig Ingram, who is no softie either.
But it doesn’t stop there. Michael Voss, the tough ex Brisbane Lions player and now coach, spent his formative years there, as did pop guru Molly Meldrum – although he was probably in nappies when he left town. But they make a formidable quintet if Orbost ever wanted to do some serious lobbying.
Any small towns out there who can match Orbost?
*Rod Brown is a Canberra-based consultant specialising in industry/regional development, investment attraction, clusters and accessing Federal grants. He also runs the Cockatoo Network. He can be contacted at apdcockatoo@iprimus.com.au or phone
(02) 6231 7261.
Go to the blog at www.investmentinnovation.wordpress.com for 550+ articles on issues relevant to Local Government.
