CEOs, POLICIES AND PUBLIC BODIES

Abstract: The literature on statutory authorities has concentrated largely upon matters of structure and administrative arrangements. One significant dimension which has received scant treatment is the idiosyncratic role of chief executive officers in such organisations and their ability to capture both the agency and policy-direction, often in ways immune from government control. This article mainly examines one example from the Northern Territory, the Darwin Trade Development Zone, but evidence is included to support the contention that similar processes occur in other statutory authorities both locally and elsewhere in Australia. It is argued that structural reforms cannot by themselves remedy the gap between expectation and policy-delivery. Avenues for reform are discussed, including the more orthodox accountability linkages, and the conclusions drawn argue for greater attention to be given to the appropriateness of chief executive appointments within a context of more disciplined and coherent policy-direction.     

NORTHERN TERRITORY

As a consequence of the constitutional development which has occurred in the Northern Territory since 1976, a veritable administrative revolution has taken place. The devolution of State-type functions from Commonwealth to local control and the legal establishment of a Northern Territory government on 1 July 1978 necessitated fundamental changes to the administrative structure. However, the pace and scale of change, so dramatic a feature of the period between 1977 and 1979, were much less pronounced in 1980 which was a year of relative stability. In political terms, the highlight of 1980 was the Legislative Assembly elections in June which resulted in the return of the Country-Liberal Party government. Its continuation in office was an important factor in ensuring a climate for administrative stability.     

Political Management in Australia: The Case of the Northern Territory

This article reviews the evolution of administrative arrangements in the Northern Territory since the 1970s, covering both the devolutionary phase and, with somewhat more emphasis, the self-government period since 1978. The article centres on the theme of political management which, as in the recent work by Halligan and Power (1992), has become a major focus in the study of Australian administrative reform. Political management involves a 'modernising reform agenda. internal in orientation and concerned mainly with making the organizational and human resources of the executive branch more responsive to the priorities of superordinates' (Halligan and Power 1992: 249). Particular attention here is given to the evolving pattern of relationships between the political and bureaucratic arms of the Northern Territory executive.     

NORTHERN TERRITORY

The period under review in this chronicle—December 1980 to mid-August 1981—was, like 1980, characterized by relative political and administrative stability and consolidation. Such a climate of stability was, of course, to be expected as the system instituted with self-government was newly established and refined. Moreover, most of the election pledges which involved significant administrative implications had been implemented in the first months of the Third Assembly. If any major alteration to administrative structure or process is to occur (and there is no present indication of such intention by the government), it is likely to take place after the budget session in August.