Federalism

One thing I hadn’t quite anticipated before coming to Queensland is the depth of wrangling between State and Commonwealth governments. I perhaps also thought that even if things have been tense at other times, it’d be much smoother with Labor governments now in power at all levels. Not so.

The heart of the issue is at which level should sit various policy responsibilities. For example, on health policy the Commonwealth pay for GPs and primary care, the States for community care and public health with consequential challenges particularly around coorindation, funding, and accountability. In the debate about what sits where I find myself increasingly siding with the Commonwealth.

It’s again a hot topic following an impassioned speech by Queensland’s Premier Anna Bligh billed as a ‘spirited defence of federalism’. It’s definitely worth a read, even though it contained some bad along with the good.

The Bad

• A good use of the ‘subsidiarity principle’ (i.e. that power should sit at the most local level possible) but needs more detail on the underlying rationale. I also believe in subsidiarity though could equally use it to construct an argument for aggregation e.g. with the various tests I previously posted. And, perhaps ironically, other advocates of subsidiarity might note it’s a strong argument for devolving power to local agencies and bypass states altogether.
  
  
• A number of dodgy factual claims. The worst offender of which is the statement that ‘Federated structures like Australia … have higher rates of per capita GDP’. (Note this isn’t a claim that one causes the other, but it’s certainly intended to imply that.) I read the research report on which this was based on and what the analysis used is a simple comparison of average per capita GDP in federal countries (i.e. US, Switzerland, Australia) compared to unitary systems (i.e. UK, France etc). Pretty ridiculous really.
  
  
• Some select interpretations on global trends. For example, Bligh says ‘let’s acknowledge the global trend towards federalism’. No, let’s not. What seems to be happening is a slow but steady trend for more complex, multi-faceted and tiered governance arrangements but not really in what could be called federalist in the sense of multiple layers within the same political system. For example, aggregating some functions up to higher levels like the EU and major international institutions, devolving others down.
  
  

The Good

• The concept of exchange of responsibilities. A bargaining between State and Commonwealth levels about which responsibilities should sit where will help ensure the process is thoughtful rather than a simple power-grab.
  
  
• Application to education, health, and climate change. It makes the debate real and has put some issues on the table for debate.
  
  
• Excellent timing and thoughtful contribution to the debate that’s put Queensland in a lead position in negotiations over the next 6 months or so.