The bushfires and coronavirus are a taste of a new normal. A normal where Australia will have no choice but to solve multiple, intertwined challenges at once.
Australia will have to prepare for bushfires and cyclones, mitigate climate change, and transition the energy system – all at once. We will have to embrace the benefits of technology, set ethical guidelines for its use, and help workers and industries adjust while it transforms the economy – all at once. We will have to rebuild the jobs market after lockdowns and border closures, address stagnant productivity, and tackle women’s inequality – all at once.
But as a society, Australia has failed to keep its future-making system up to date, leaving it poorly prepared for the challenges ahead. To maximise and share Australia’s success across current and future generations, the country must invest ongoing thought and effort in improving how Australia makes its future.
Our research over the last decade consistently shows that a widespread lack of trust across society is one of the biggest barriers. Drawing on twenty years of analysis, Edelman finds that trust is based on “competence (delivering on promises) and ethical behaviour (doing the right thing and working to improve society).”
But in Australia’s three most populous states, competence and ethics are under the microscope. In Victoria, questions are swirling about the competence of the Premier with the Judicial Inquiry Into Hotel Quarantine Program. In NSW, the ethics of the Premier have come under scrutiny during an inquiry by the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption. In Queensland, the opposition leader’s integrity is under a cloud as the Electoral Commission examines alleged political fundraising irregularities just weeks before the State election. And at a Commonwealth level, multiple investigations are under way into alleged fraud and unethical dealings in the Department of Infrastructure’s purchase of land for the Western Sydney airport.
Given high levels of distrust in Australia, it is no wonder that people who want action on climate change did not take kindly to political leaders telling them during the bushfire emergency that it was no time to be talking about emissions reduction. It is no wonder that people wanting to protest against Aboriginal deaths in custody thumbed their noses at health orders and political admonishments to stay at home. And it is no wonder that people who believe strongly in civil liberties railed against the severity and duration of lockdowns. They did not trust leaders to address their concerns now or at all.
One way to improve trust would be for the Commonwealth, State, and Territory governments to commit to results on three National Cabinet Priorities based on the advice of a new Joint Commission on Major Challenges.
The National Cabinet would mandate the Commission to identify the ten issues that will have the biggest impact on Australia over the next ten years. Australia’s governments would choose three that are not already highly politicised and set ten-year goals with annual key performance indicators. Each government would determine how it makes progress.
Rather than being a new body with hand-picked members open to allegations of bias and “captain’s calls”, it would comprise the heads of each public service in Australia, the heads of the Productivity Commission and CSIRO, the Chief Scientist, and the heads of the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service, and the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
This approach is compatible with the realities of different local circumstances, recognises the importance of the battle of ideas in a thriving democracy, and leaves room for political positions and choices. It builds on the approach of initiatives like Closing the Gap, the NSW Premier’s Priorities, and New Zealand’s former Better Public Services program. It provides focus, accountability, and protection from the tyranny of Australia’s short election cycles.
The Joint Commission on Major Challenges could provide its analysis and list by early 2021 and National Cabinet could agree and publish its priorities and goals by late 2021 with a commitment to reporting on progress each year.
By listening to a diverse group of respected experts, matching the duration of action to the timeline of the challenge, and committing to results, Australia’s governments could rebuild badly damaged trust and set the foundations to maximise and share Australia’s success across current and future generations.
That would be a fitting gift from our elected representatives as Australia marks 120 years of Federation.