POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF STATE HIGH TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS

The euphoria associated with bold new ventures by the states to initiate high technology development programs can obscure many of the political and economic realities that condition and constrain them. This article introduces and explores the implications of a number of hypotheses about these relationships. Current state high technology development programs are placed within historical context by comparing current initiatives with the science/research-based economic development strategies of the 1960s. Potential conflicts among universities, state officials, and other parties-at-interest related to the time frame and payoffs of high technology development programs are identified and discussed.     

WATERPOWER AND WILDERNESS: POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS OF THE LAKE PEDDER CONTROVERSY

Not that even the truth was easy to discover: different eye-witnesses give different accounts of the same events, speaking out of partiality for one side or the other or else from imperfect memories.     

COMPLAINTS AGAINST POLICE IN NEW SOUTH WALES: ADMINISTRATIVE AND POLITICAL DIMENSIONS

Abstract: The issue of public complaints against police in New South Wales has assumed the dimensions of a substantial administrative and political debate. Attempts at administrative reform within a framework of political compromise have resulted in recent times in continuing conflict between police representatives and, principally, the Ombudsman. Present trends appear to favour increased external control of the complaint investigation process — the core of conflict. This article describes the development of the New South Wales Police Department's complaint procedures from their origin to the present, placing emphasis on administrative and political dimensions. Relevant complaints and disciplinary data are examined but, due to limited availability, little can be concluded therefrom. So far, at least, there is nothing to suggest that changes in complaints procedures reduce police employee malpractice or even that public opinion of police generally improves as a result. However, several more years will need to pass before firm conclusions can be advanced on such matters. The issue of complaints against police in NSW poses a lasting administrative and political dilemma. The issue deserves the close attention of concerned public administrators and politicians alike because the form of resolution eventually arrived at will be crucial to the growth of police professionalism.     

ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: CONCEPTS, ISSUES, AND THE NATIONAL EXPERIENCE

This symposium examines issues related to the links between administrative reform policy and economic development policy. The symposium introduction paper consists of two parts. First, it offers an overview of the background of theoretical and conceptual issues that are important to the connection between administrative reform and economic development. The issues reviewed include the role of government in economic development, the importance of public policy and management to economic development, the contribution of development administration, and the need of administrative reform to remove bureaucratic problems and promote efficiency. Next, the introduction paper provides a brief summary of the research arguments and findings addressed in the following six articles. They include an evaluation of administrative reform in Arab world economic growth, an examination of administrative reform and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean, a political economy analysis of policy reform in Korea, a study of the implementation of privatization strategies in India's public sector reform, a discussion of the concerns between efficiency and ethics in China's economic development, and the study of administrative and economic development in Mongolia. The implications of the research findings and the need for further study of the linkage between administrative reform and economic development are emphasized in the conclusion.     

POLITICS, POLICY MAKING AND PRESSURE GROUPS: SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR REFORM OF THE AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

Abstract: In Australia, current policy making is characterized by immobilism, drift and "pluralistic stagnation". The problem is not lack of technical expertise, but the mobilization of political consent in a polity in which pressure groups have proliferated. In the post-war period, the welfare state/managed economy has transformed the role of government and the potential power of pressure groups. New networks of interdependency have developed. Some of the principal groups are beneficiaries of redistributive programs, producer groups, state and local government agencies and professionals in government. Their potential power has been made actual by a new participative ethic. The post-materialist values of which this is part also result in the growth of groups focusing on quality of life and moral issues. In this context the political parties are losing their central place in the polity and the centralized organs of executive government appear over-secretive and aloof. Reforms are needed to realign institutions with the new cultural and structural realities. Broader interest group involvement is needed. Parliament, through a committee system, could play a major role and its historical function as custodian of the public interest should be revived. Departments must find new ways to involve more groups in policy formulation and implementation. Information must be shared more widely and policy analysts and advisors should work more closely with groups in defining issues, negotiating alternatives and encouraging the development of supportive coalitions. New "intelligence" and "outreach" functions within the public service are required, and the existing approaches of policy units and research bureaux should be remodelled.