The passing of former PM Malcom Fraser last month led to mixed reviews.
Lots of ex-officials here in Canberra telling stories of his phone calls at odd hours, his aloofness and ‘born to rule’ disposition.
But he mellowed after leaving office and became an important moral compass for numerous causes including indigenous affairs, Africa and refugee policy.
And in his last interview he railed against US imperialism and our need to plot an independent foreign policy path.
He said the Liberals had lost their way.
He was a vocal proponent of ‘strategic independence’ and was reportedly floating the idea of a new political party to end our military alliance with the US, close Pine Gap, get the Marines out of Darwin, develop closer relations with south east Asia, end offshore processing of asylum seekers, introduce stronger anti-corruption and transparency laws, and regulate the sale of arable land.
PM Abbott didn’t appear overly concerned by Fraser’s implicit criticism.
This is understandable given that Labor’s policies are close to those of the Abbott Government – indeed successive Labor leaders created the off-shore processing agenda, bent over for the Obama Administration, did little to tighten foreign investment and dithered over tax reform.
However Malcolm Fraser’s policy musings in his later years did highlight the lack of a vision and narrative of the current government beyond stopping the boats, fighting the war on terrorism and balancing the budget.
Abbott is no doubt aware of this, and recently moved to strengthen his media team.
But the problem runs deep because of the iron-clad grip of Treasury-Finance groupthink.
The latest example is the Intergenerational Report, with the Treasurer’s call to arms for reform, and odd remarks about how prosperity will be delivered by the grey army and the army of women coming back into the work force after having children.
On the latter score, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that women already account for 46 percent of the workforce.
To illustrate the groupthink, did you know that the Intergenerational Report was written entirely by Treasury officials?
Although it has huge ramifications for health and social policy, officials from the departments of Health, Social Security, Human Services were not consulted, apart from some checks on expenditure modeling.
They were totally locked out of the policy development process. Malcolm Fraser would not have allowed this to happen.
Hardship for rural councils
A few months ago, I described the federal program apparatus as a block of Swiss cheese.
Well that was an exaggeration – it’s more like a pile of crumbs.
It spells real hardship for the many rural councils that face daily challenges with public tasks such as environmental management, disaster relief, small business support, drug and alcohol abuse.
But these are the same councils that invariably lack the rate bases and businesses capable of generating local income and jobs.
To illustrate, I recently did a quick check of portfolios with a ‘local’ aspect and
I can report that:
- Health – very few community health programs left, despite major mental health and drug problems in many communities.
- Environment – zilch except for its modest Green Army and heritage programs.
- Education and Employment – nothing of note.
- Indigenous – shrinkage because the Indigenous Advancement Program ($4.8 million over 4 years) collapses scores of programs into a competitive annual effort.
- Tourism – nothing left. Now the responsibility of the states.
- Department of Agriculture – no drought, water or agriculture value-adding programs of substance. Minister Joyce is reportedly blocked at every turn.
- Department of Industry – the only ‘local’ programs are those picking up the pieces after manufacturing closures e.g. Geelong, northern Adelaide.
- Local government – continuing freeze on the indexation of Financial Assistant Grants, which could continue until after the White Paper in 2016.
- Infrastructure – the only bright spot, because of Abbott’s aim is to be remembered as the ‘infrastructure prime minister’.
The Stronger Regions Fund is also a plus ($200m/year) but this doesn’t go far in a wide brown land.
What’s the best tack for rural councils?
Frankly it’s a hard ask because Canberra groupthink says that their problems are part of the adjustment process.
One possible solution is to empower the Nationals.
Or perhaps vote in more Independents?
Or get some champions onto the case such as Alan Jones on the coal seam gas front.
Or run an agenda at the ALP, which claims it’s the traditional party of the Bush.
Or give up on the feds and get closer to the States – after all, this is what the New Federalism is about.
Inland rail project
While on the subject of rural areas, the feds have committed $300m to the Inland Rail project – for corridor planning, environmental assessments, community consultation, financing options and engaging with private sector.
An Implementation Group headed by ex-Deputy PM John Anderson is in place.
Likely route is Melbourne, Albury, Wagga, Junee, Stockinbingal, Parkes, Narromine, Narrabri, Moree, Milmerran, Oakey, Toowoomba, Brisbane. Construction expected to take 8–10 years.
The project’s realisation will be difficult – the economics are fragile.
A true whole-of-government approach is needed to pull the private sector players into it.
Only a handful of players like Woolworths and Asciano (Patrick, Pacific National) have put their hands up.
Rod Brown is a Canberra-based consultant and lobbyist specialising in industry/regional development, investment attraction and clusters, and accessing federal grants. He also runs the Cockatoo Network.
Phone: (02) 6231 7261 or 0412 922 559
Email: apdcockatoo@iprimus.com.au
Blog: www.investmentinnovation.wordpress.com (750 articles)
