VOLATILE SUBSTANCES: COORDINATING PETROL-SNIFFING PROGRAMS FOR ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES IN A FEDERAL SYSTEM

Abstract: This paper considers the problems involved in coordinating policy in a federal system. It examines the programs developed to control petrol-sniffing in South Australian Aboriginal communities and analyses the processes which determined policy outcomes. Both intergovernmental and intragovern-mental factors are identified as contributing to the failure to achieve coordination. The particular characteristics of Aboriginal Affairs as a concurrent constitutional responsibility combined with its position as a client-specific portfolio impede efficiency in matters of funding, definition of administrative jurisdiction and political commitment to cooperative action.     

THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION'S WELFARE RETRENCHMENT POLICY: TERMINATING SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR THE DISABLED

Large numbers of the permanently and totally disabled have had benefits terminated since 1980 as a result of a determined effort towards that end by the Reagan administration. This is an example of the process by which a major change in political ethos is translated into important changes in welfare benefit entitlement rules. It is also interesting since it seems to be the first instance of a large scale conscientious attempt of the executive branch to reach into and narrow the basic entitlement policy of the Social Security Administration. This normally would be done through joint executive, congressional and legislative action. This article presents the policy background of these events and reviews and analyzes the data about their consequences.     

THE POLITICS OF ROAD FUNDING: REMOTE ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES AND FEDERALISM IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Abstract: This paper illustrates how remote Aboriginal communities shape rural road classification and funding policies in three Western Australian shires. The Australian federal system is characterised by a complex range of commonwealth and state governmental agencies competing for political space within different localities. Because Aborigines are constituents of the commonwealth and the state, a distinction is drawn between local government political activity, and politics that occur within the locality of a shire.
Success in influencing policy-making processes throughout the federal system stems from the participants' ability to exploit the system. The Aboriginal impact on road policy-making within remote localities is linked to electoral, bureaucratic, and sectional interest politics. These are features of governing and they provide a conceptual framework for the organisation of political activity by commonwealth, state, and local agencies, and Aboriginal communities.     

A GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST) AND THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR: SOME CANADIAN REFLECTIONS

Abstract: In recent years, several Pacific Rim nations have introduced a goods and services tax (GST), similar (in some respects) to European value-added tax (VAT). Countries with GST include New Zealand, Western Samoa and Canada. In the 1993 Australian federal elections, a major issue was whether or not to introduce GST.
New taxes are seldom popular, but particularly in Canada the introduction of GST caused extraordinary concern in the small business sector which was faced with compliance costs exceeding $1 billion. This article is a case study of the Canadian experience, with some comparisons made with some features of other systems. Findings suggest that, in Canada, the smaller businesses which are registered for GST are burdened by an unproportional share of the burden. Managerial time of entrepreneurs is being used for increased accounting and paperwork requirements.
An understanding of GST and its difficulties may assist the small business sector in Australia and elsewhere in the Pacific Rim to be better prepared for GST-type taxation. It may also assist the sector in voicing its concerns to government, such that the policy-makers responsible for taxation matters may be responsive to the needs of the small business sector.     

IMPLEMENTING AN EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAM FOR FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS: DILEMMAS AND CHOICES

The food stamp legislation of December 1985 provided another opportunity to experiment with welfare to work reform, this time through employment and training programs for food stamp recipients. This new program can be seen both as an opportunity to move people toward self-sufficiency and as a bundle of programmatic contradictions which threaten that opportunity. Federal requirements for the program are described as are the dilemmas to which they give rise. These dilemmas concern program coverage of food stamp recipients, utility of the program components, the use of sparse funds, and the incorporation of such values as the harmonization of programs, administrative simplicity, and fairness to food stamp recipients.     

KENNEDY AND CONGRESS: THE STRUGGLE FOR THE NEW FRONTIER

Abstract The article attempts to develop an interpretation of some of the more important domestic aspects of the Kennedy administration. In particular, it focuses on Kennedy's relations with Congress and on the difficulty of reconciling his reputation as a skilful politician with his legislative disappointments. Case studies of three important bills reveal a consistent, if unsuccessful, legislative strategy. The manner in which the Kennedy administration has been evaluated is considered and the article concludes by locating the source of Kennedy's legislative difficulties in the circumstances of his nomination campaign.     

JAPANESE BUREAUCRATS AND POLICY IMPLEMENTATION: LESSONS FOR AMERICA?

In recent years, American business has attempted to learn the secrets of Japanese business success. This paper asks whether it would be equally useful to examine Japanese public administration to determine why the Japanese government seems to be so much more successful than American government in implementing public policies. It is widely agreed that policy implementation in the United States involves considerable "slippage" between policy intent and achievement. By contrast, scholars agree that Japanese public policy is usually implemented effectively and efficiently. This paper argues that the Japanese case has three important implications for the United States: effective policy implementation is possible, better implementation would result from allowing civil servants to participate more fully in policy formulation, and the development of an elite corps of top civil servants could make a major contribution to better policymaking and implementation.