The Good Oil by Rod Brown*
In July, Opposition Regional Development spokesman, Simon Crean, outlined Labor’s alternative policy and he’s still banging on about it. Readers in regional areas should take a close interest. Crean is one of the best strategists in Parliament, and his views are worth noting. The nub of his policy is to build the capacity of the existing network of Area Consultative Committees – and rename it Regional Development Australia. It will have a greater role in determining regional priorities, creating local networks and working in partnership with local stakeholders to identify local solutions. He says the network will be funded on a long term basis.
The ACCs are very poorly resourced and few have heard of them. If, and when Labor wins power, it would be nice to see them colocate or cobadge them with State equivalents.
The punters are tired of the Feds and States trying to score points with piddling grants. It’s high time the New Deal arrived!
The other string to Crean’s bow is for Labor to get ‘regional thinking’ into mainstream portfolios. He wants mainstream portfolios to identify their spending by region – and to allow the regional network to have input on the spatial allocation of all funds! He says that this will also provide a mechanism for innovative, creative solutions for better service delivery. Wow! I forecast that all the creativity will be expended by the big budget departments (Defence, Treasury and Health) in scuttling the idea – because they guard their right to make their expenditure decisions in quiet freedom. And if rural MPs got their hands on this data, they’d open a huge can of worms.
Regulations ‘hurting infrastructure’ – but SA and Victoria win kudos
The regulation systems governing Australia’s key infrastructure are mostly mediocre, costing businesses and consumers, says a report by the Australian Council for Infrastructure Development. Its CEO, Dennis O’Neill, says if governments are serious about improving the way the nation is run, they have to address the way key infrastructure assets are controlled.
The report scores government regulations on independence, efficiency, transparency and accountability. It gave SA’s regulations of ports the highest rating – a ‘very good’. NSW, WA, Tasmania and the NT were given ‘very poor ratings’ for their port regulations. Victoria rated the best overall, with its ports, rail, water, gas and electricity distribution systems rated as ‘good’. The Federal Government was rated fair (behind Victoria, SA, ACT), for its railways, telecoms, gas and electricity distribution systems. The NT and Tasmania were rated worst.
O’Neill said with the push towards more private sector involvement in public infrastructure, governments had to lift their regulation game.
“A private company might not be too swayed by a project if it can’t be sure over how it’s going to be regulated,” he said.
Bogong’s take on the next 12 months
Bogong is the mystery regular columnist in our monthly Cockatoo newsletter. He has weighed in with another searing piece of analysis, as follows.
Too many policy decisions are made on the basis of polling. No party is exempt from that rule, although the Prime Minister tried it with his new refugees legislation, and thought about it on stem cells.
Polls will be increasingly important in the next 12 months because a lot of pre election thinking is creeping into Parliament House. The analysts are bunkered down over the Mackerras electoral pendulum and identifying the marginal seats of most importance. If you’re in a marginal, then you get the equivalent of ten votes on election day!
As for the issues, polling from both sides is turning up similar data on why there is a small national swing against the Government. And it’s not in the aspirational heartland of inner west of Sydney and its equivalents in Melbourne and Brisbane! It is with the greypower of that demographic cohort, the baby boomers. It seems they are worried about their grandchildren. What sort of country are they leaving to them? What are their prospects of owning a home? What’s the cost of their education and will they get the job they want – or end up in a call centre?
As for timing, the PM wants to chair APEC and sit at the head table with George W and the other heads of government in early September 2007. So no one envisages him calling it before mid September. Then you have the statutory 33 days and avoid a major sporting fixture. And the second week of December onwards is just too chancy.
One veteran pollie who won’t be coming back is ex Deputy PM, John Anderson, a decent bloke all round. His electorate will disappear and although the Nats will pick up a seat in Queensland, it’s always sad to lose someone of his calibre.
Dust off those projects
Since we are in pre-election mode, councils should be getting their projects prepared for possible Federal funding largesse. Ring us for some hints as to what might be attractive.
OECD report ‘Innovation and Growth in Tourism’
This is a just released 146 page report explaining how innovation is transforming tourism business models. It is authored by various experts – for example, Professor Nathan Rosenberg (Stanford University) discusses the revolutionary role of the Internet in airplane travel ticketing and on travel agents. Others talk about the rise of charter airlines in opening up new tourism regions, and the rise of grey power. The book should be read by anyone involved in tourism. Go to www.sourceoecd.org/industrytrade/9264025014
CraftNet
My colleague, Stuart Rosenfeld (Regional Technology Strategies, North Carolina, USA), has forwarded details of CraftNet, an international network of community colleges devising innovative ways through partnerships to develop artisan based strengths. Projects at each college integrate various aspects of design, production, technology, marketing, collaboration and business management skills, and include ways to attract low income and non traditional learners.
Rosenfeld has been actively pushing the envelope in the local development field. You can contact him at www.rtsinc.org/craftnet/index.html
* Rod Brown’s Canberra based consultancy group, Australian Project Developments Pty Ltd, specialises in industry/regional development and government liaison. For further information phone (02) 6231 7261 or email apd@orac.net.au
