Rapidly advancing technology is opening new doors to convenience, speed, and transparency for private-sector customers. New devices and techniques are pushing the boundaries of what is possible. But these benefits are often not realised in government, where tight budgets are making it difficult for the public sector to deliver services of a similarly high quality. […]
29 January, 2018
The Australian Medical Association has released a paper outlining ways to get more doctors into the bush. The ‘Position Statement – Rural Workforce Initiatives’ outlines what the AMA says is a comprehensive five-point plan to encourage more doctors to work in rural and remote locations and improve patient access to health care. It says at […]
29 January, 2018
The Cities Power Partnership (CPP), a consortium of Australian local government authorities to encourage the use of renewable energy, has increased its number of members to 70, exactly double the number that signed up when the group was formed in July 2017. Numbers are likely to grow even more after the next round of applications […]
28 January, 2018
Local government identities around Australia have been honoured in this year’s Australia Day awards. Long serving Local Government Association of Queensland CEO Greg Hallam became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), for significant service to local government administration, to natural disaster recovery efforts, and to people with disabilities. Mr Hallam has been CEO […]
28 January, 2018
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services (RoGS) has a section on Emergency Management. These are categorised as Fire and State and Territory Emergency Services (STES). Ambulance services are covered separately in the Health section of the report. Total government expenditure across Australia in 2016-17 for fire and STES services was $4.3 billion, around 1.9 […]
24 January, 2018
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services (RoGS) also covers Justice – Police, Courts and Corrective Services. Total government expenditure for the justice services measured in RoGS was almost $16 billion in 2016-17, around 7.2 percent of total government expenditure on services. Police services were the largest contributor (65.4 percent of this amount), followed by […]
24 January, 2018
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services (RoGS) has a detailed section on governments’ delivery of services in the housing sector. It covers social housing services and subsidised rental housing provided by not-for-profit, non‑government or government organisations to assist people who are unable to access suitable accommodation through the private market. The report also examines […]
23 January, 2018
The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services (RoGS) contain a large section on Community Services. It breaks the sector into four categories: aged care, services for people with disabilities, child protection services, and youth justice services. It is an enormous sector, second only to health. Total Federal, state and territory government recurrent expenditure on community […]
23 January, 2018
As the old saying goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Perhaps that is why the ‘Approach to performance measurement’ report is the first part of the Productivity Commission’s 2018 Report on Government Services series. This first component of the report focusses on the importance of measurement, the scope of the report, and methodology. […]
23 January, 2018
The Productivity Commission has begun releasing its 23rd annual Report on Government Services (RoGS). It is major exercise, with separate chapters released in seven parts over the next week on all areas of government service delivery. Government News will examine each report in depth. Our special Australia Day newsletter will highlight all sections released by […]
22 January, 2018
It didn’t take long. On Monday the Federal Government made a big deal out of investing $60 million over 18 months to “set in motion” a major research and development program for the restoration of the Great Barrier Reef. Within 24 hours the plan was attacked by environmentalists, marine scientists and the Greens as too […]
22 January, 2018
Opponents of releasing more water into the Murray Darling river system for environmental purposes have suffered a defeat. A new independent report says the plan to add 450 gigalitres (GL) annually to the 2750 GL currently released will be good for the environment and have overall socioeconomic benefits. The 300 page report was commissioned by […]
22 January, 2018
Australia Day rolls around again this week. Its observance has once again become an issue, with many councils, individuals and The Greens calling for its date to be changed, or at least the observance of a national day for Australia to be moved to another date. The issue has become totemic of Australia’s continuing culture […]
22 January, 2018
Australia’s premier alliance of conservation organisations has called the Federal Government’s new biodiversity strategy a weak and disappointing document which will do nothing to address concerns about reduction in biodiversity. The Government released a draft ‘Australia’s Strategy for Nature 2018-2030’ document just before Christmas. The 17 page report is intended to replace the much more […]
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