Just when we thought that the euphoria for British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s New Deal and his huge popularity was all coming unstuck (thanks to the war in Iraq and the rather messy aftermath both within Iraq and in Britain), his speech at the recent Labour Party annual conference forced even the most ardent cynics to reconsider whether he really is ‘losing his way’. So what has the domestic politics of the UK to do with Local Government in Australia? Undoubtedly, the Blair Government’s New Deal, including sweeping public sector reform with its strong emphasis on service delivery, transparency and accountability, has influenced various policies and programs here.
The Victorian Government’s development of Best Value, replacing the unpopular Compulsory Competitive Tendering (on that occasion borrowed from the other side of British politics), was certainly influenced by the UK approach. Similarly, Tony Blair’s push for ‘Joined Up Government’, making optimum use of the Web and telecommunication advances to deliver services to people 24 hours a day seven days a week, is enthusiastically being taken on board here by all our spheres of government. Again, our move towards Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), for funding a range of projects including major infrastructure works, is yet another direct borrow from the UK.
Apart from this, Tony Blair’s speech to get things back on track and push forward with the reform agenda covered some important issues well worth consideration by everyone involved in decision making and leadership. On going forward or back, Tony Blair left few in any doubt with the following. “I can only go one way. I’ve not got a reverse gear. The time to trust a politician most is not when they’re taking the easy option. Any politician can do the popular things. I know, I used to do a few of them.”
Later, on a more serious note, he said, “I’ve never led this Party by calculation. Policy you calculate. Leadership comes by instinct. I believe the British people will forgive a government’s mistakes; will put the media onslaught in more perspective than we think; but what they won’t forgive is cowardice in the face of a challenge.”
Continuing with the UK theme, in this edition our regular feature the ‘UK Experience’ by Malcolm Morley (who will shortly be taking up a new post as CEO of the City of Harlow in Essex), outlines an innovative UK program for sharing Best Practice (refer page 16). Here British Councils, classified under Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) as Excellent in a particular service, are awarded Beacon Status by the Central Government. The Beacon Councils then enter into an agreement with the Minister to share their experiences, their practices and the lessons they have learnt, with other Councils.
Also in this edition, we have sourced a range of stories covering Best Practice programs and initiatives from Councils across Australia. Perhaps Australian Local Government should consider borrowing from the UK yet again. However, we need to give it a home grown flavour by selecting the Councils that are the ‘movers and the shakers’ through peer review organised by Local Government peak bodies and professional groups. Funding for this and the sharing of the selected Best Practice examples would fit comfortably with a grant under the Local Government Development Program or the like.
