ABC Matter of Fact with Stan Grant:
Are We Well Governed?
DIRECTOR OF THE UTS INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, PROFESSOR ROBERTA RYAN, APPEARED ALONGSIDE TONY SHEPHERD AND JILL SHEPPARD ON THE ABC’S MATTER OF FACT WITH STAN GRANT ON 5 MARCH 2018.
The segment titled ‘Are we well governed?’ discussed whether
the makeup of the Australian government means that the Australian society is
over governed, and the potential ways of overcoming this.
The panel looked into the power of a strong government in substantially
improving the responsibility of each of the three tiers of government, and the
benefits of creating a responsive government closer to where people actually
are. They also discussed what creating more government bodies would mean in
practice, and how it would affect existing power as well as create extra costs
for the government.
Professor Ryan provided her insights into the local government sector
and how local governments are usually seen as more relevant than state
governments in overseeing and governing communal issues. She also touched on
the power of local governments in delivering services that are responsive to
the needs of local communities.
Tony Shepherd, Chair of the Abbott Government Commission of Audit and
Jill Sheppard, Lecturer in politics at the Australian National University, also
provided insights into the advantages of an operative arrangement between
states and the Commonwealth government as well as looking deeper into what
level of government has responsibility over what.
The panel also touched on the lack of clarity and alignment of the
government sector and the importance of uniformity in alleviating this.
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Note: The segment starts at
the 10 minute mark.
