THE IMAGE OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR IN AUSTRALIA*

After the recent Federal elections, I am more confident in saying that I do not always believe the polls. In this instance, I have the feeling that the image of public administrators in Australia is probably worse than the surveys indicated. The latest bumper bar sticker in Canberra reads: “Fight inflation, run over a public servant today”. The Australian is running a series of articles critical of the size, efficiency and effectiveness of public services. The cup-of-tea image is a popular one and kick-a-public-servant-today has every possibility of developing into a national sport; the “fat cat” image has caught on.     

THE IMAGE OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR: THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE PRESS*

The theme of this conference is "the image of the public administrator". This puts me immediately on the spot, since I suspect that many public servants believe that if that image is less flattering than they would like it to be, the fault lies largely with the press. This notion, which is also popular in the professions, is at once comforting and dangerous. It is comforting because it is always a relief to find that it is someone else's fault that one is unloved. It is dangerous because it encourages a retreat back into complacency.     

THE IMAGE OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

The more that I have thought about the question of the image of the public administrator, the more complex and ambiguous the whole concept has seemed to be. Our knowledge of the facts is patchy enough. Our understanding of causes and effects is thinner still. The best approach is perhaps to pool what we know from different sources. So today I propose to add to the available material, including the recent ANOP survey findings, such fragments of information and such conclusions as are available in the British context. I shall certainly look forward to learning more about Australian experiences while I am here. Between us, we may be able to make a little progress.     

THE IMAGE OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR: AN MP's PERSPECTIVE*

In Australia the only professional group less understood or more subject to abuse than the public service is politicians. Rightly or wrongly public servants as a group are pictured as being lazy, "never having worked a hard day in their lives", totally inflexible, out of touch with the public, not really concerned about people's needs or wants, incompassionate, and concerned only about their seniority status and their superannuation fund.     

THEORIES OF REGULATORY IMPACT: THE ROLES OF THE REGULATOR, THE REGULATED, AND THE PUBLIC

Berry reviews the major theories for why legislative intent differs from regulatory output including: (1) theories of commission inadequacy, (2) group theories of political science, and (3) group theories of regulation offered by economists. He reviews the salient literature in each type and concludes that none alone incorporates a sufficient explanation for the wide range of regulatory outcomes. Such an explanation, he maintains, requires an analysis of all three actors, and of the variation in the incentives, resources, and goals of each.     

THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION OF TEXAS: A CASE OF CAPTURE OR RAPTURE?1

Anderson reviews the notion of the “captured” regulatory agency and summarizes four theories for how it occurs. The author then uses the example of the newly formed Texas Public Utility Commission to demonstrate none of the four apply; that the regulators became “enraptured” with the interests of the industry rather than “captured” by them.     

THE ROLES OF GOVERNMENT A PARTICIPANT'S PERSECTIVE*

Hasluck is unusual in the lengths he went to the define the responsibilities of the various offices in which he was involved. Many of the functions and processes of government have changed since Hasluck was an active participant in the political process. Interest groups have increasingly influenced political decision-making, organisations external to the public service now play a greater role in influencing the development of public policy, the operation of a number of areas of the public service has become more visible and open to external scrutiny, there has been a constant trend towards political appointments within the public service, and it appears unlikely that the emphasis on public relations and marketing techniques as an integral feature of government communication will diminish. Likewise, the demands on ministers' time have increased and, while it is questionable whether ministers now handle a larger ministerial workload than Hasluck did, it is doubtful whether very many then or since have had his capacity for hard work or for handing the matters which cross their desk without the support of a professional advisory staff. The functions and operations of government evolve and the adaptation of roles and functions may not necessarily weaken the effectiveness of government administration. However, the fundamental tenet of Hasluck's writings on the roles of government remains compelling: the participants in the various areas of government should have an appreciation of the constitutional responsibilities of their position, its relationship to other areas of government and the fundamental principles which are required to maintain the credentials of the office into the future.     

PRODUCTIVITY BARGAINING IN THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SECTOR: A CASE STUDY

Abstract: Standard hours of work have been relatively uniform throughout the work force in Australia. Reductions have occurred only after careful consideration by the industrial tribunals and/or the parliaments. Provision of special treatment in this matter for particular groups of employees has been limited. The use of productivity bargaining techniques to secure reduced standard hours of work for a relatively small proportion of the work force — as occurred in the public sector in the mid-1970s — represented a significant departure from previous practice. This is a study of the first of these cases which, in effect, set the ground rules for a series of similar cases conducted later within the Commonwealth public sector. It sets out the steps which were necessary to have the productivity agreement accepted and points out novel features which arose in the application of the productivity bargaining technique.     

THE IMPLICATIONS OF HIGH LEVELS OF PUBLIC SECTOR DEBT FOR ECONOMIC POLICY-MAKING: THE CASE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Abstract: The relatively small and open South Australian economy has been facing the difficulties associated with the structural adjustment of its industry for over 15 years. In addition, the South Australian public sector has been contending with financial difficulties largely as a result of a reduction in grants from the commonwealth before the failure of the State Bank of South Australia. This paper reviews the growth and current level of government indebtedness in South Australia and discusses which group(s) is likely to bear the main burden of such debt. The main consequences of high levels of state public sector debt, including budgetary inflexibility, are also examined. The paper suggests that it will be necessary for relative wages and prices to adjust more freely if the negative impacts of an inevitable state government budgetary consolidation are to be minimised. If wages and prices are not free to adjust then unemployment will continue to take the brunt of the adjustment process. In addition, out-migration of businesses and people from South Australia will accelerate, leading to a further erosion of the taxation base. The State Bank indemnity arrangements and consequent levels of public sector debt incurred will require the state government to reduce the level and quality of services provided by the state public sector, sell state public sector assets and further improve efficiency and effectiveness. However, there are a number of important arguments why taxation should be an important means by which the South Australian government moves to retire public sector debt as soon as practicable. Not the least important of these arguments is the need to ensure accountability by elected representatives of government for their expenditure decisions.     

NEW TECHNOLOGY AND THE ADMINISTRATOR

Abstract: It is important to distinguish between the possible and the probable when speculating about developments in technology. It is difficult to foresee the uses which will be made of an invention, and often they are not the uses first proposed. With new technological developments almost anything is technically possible, although practical development of a possibility can be slower and more difficult than expected. Moreover, successful technical development does not guarantee acceptance by the public. Technology impinges on public administration in three ways. It is a tool, it creates new tasks, and new technology can change the expectations within society of the role and function of government and hence the role of public administration. Examples of the use of technology as a tool in public administration are evident in the areas of travel, telecommunications and data processing. Changes in technology create new administrative tasks related to increased public awareness of the dangers of many forms of technology, leading, for example, to consideration of problems of pollution, personal privacy and computer-related crime. New expectations created by the increased information available through technological advances in communication will prompt increasing calls for open planning and public participation in decision making which will in turn lead to increased visibility of administrators and a greater measure of real accountability.