The White Paper Process On Reform Of The Australian...

In under three months, a crucial meeting of federal and state leaders will start to determine whether anything major is achieved from the present White Paper process on Reform of the Australian Federation. Unique, and hopefully historic, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Retreat is perhaps the first meeting of its kind, focused on the hard politics of renegotiating the federation, since the 1899 ‘secret’ premiers conference which cleared the final path to union itself. But the most crucial question they face is not how to make Western Australia happy with the fairness of GST distribution. Nor even whether the three Labor premiers – now balanced with the three Coalition ones – can convince the federal ALP that Tony Abbott’s†¦show more content†¦Changing the Constitution requires a referendum supported by a majority of voters in a majority of states (currently, four out of six). But voters will shy away from proposed changes supported by anything less than overwhelming political and social consensus†¦ as perhaps they should. Indeed, that’s why NSW pushed to strengthen the referendum requirements back in 1899, in the last negotiations on the Constitution – not to make change democratic, but to make it hard, if not impossible. Yet unless we can entrench the reforms, the problem is they don’t â€Å"stick†. The long-term processes of a healthy federation need legal durability, if they are to survive the whittling away by shorter-term imperatives that necessarily drive the policies and behaviour of governments. Is there a solution? Another way of lifting our sights on reform that is achievable, by making those reforms both more durable and more politically symbolic? If we can find an answer, the â€Å"art of the possible† returns to the â€Å"art of the significant† as opposed to the art of fiddling around the edges. Fortunately, there are some good, and perhaps new legal options for finding durable solutions. The key elements are that we need to pull together the main reforms into a new, legally enforceable package, negotiated between the states and the Commonwealth, supported by both sides of politics, adopted by law at both levels and endorsed by the people, which fills the silences ofShow MoreRelatedThe Changing Image of Australian Nursing Essay3967 Words   |  16 PagesThe Changing Image of Australian Nursing Jacqueline Bloomfield RN, CM, Dip App.Sci (Nur), BN, Grad Cert Onc Nur, Grad Dip Midwifery, MN, MCN (NSW). ABSTRACT The way in which the public perceives nursing significantly influences nurseï ¿ ½s role performance, job satisfaction and occupational expectations. 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