Who Owns What? Some Implications of the Humphry Report on Government Business Enterprises

Governments in Australia have long wrestled with the problem of managing the performance of government business enterprises (GBEs). In December 1996 the Finance Minister commissioned Richard Humphry to provide an 'internal review' of Commonwealth GBEs. While Humphry acknowledged the reality of many GBEs remaining in public hands for 'the foreseeable future', his report encouraged GBEs to be run more closely along private sector lines. According to Wettenhall, the long-term ramifications for Australia are significant, and the unique role, qualities and responsibilities of public ownership are in danger of being sidelined.     

The IPAA/University of Canberra Public Administration Research Fund

A report issued in 1996 commemorated the 10th Anniversary of this Fund, outlining its origins and purpose, briefly identifying the 21 recipients of grants from the Fund up to that time, and describing the projects for which the grants were awarded and outcomes of those grants (IPAA/UC 1996). The Fund has now run for more than another five years, and it is appropriate to report again on its activities; the Management Committee is grateful to the editors of AJPA for making space available for this report.