The changing role of government in Australia

Will Coronavirus change the way Australia is governed?

The response to the coronavirus pandemic has seen government stimulus at both federal and state levels pushed to new heights.

While unemployment has risen steeply as economic activity declines, the stimulus measures have softened the destructive effects of a full economic shutdown.

Nonetheless, the coronavirus pandemic will profoundly and permanently change many aspects of our lives — including commerce, government and many well-established social conventions.

COVID-19 and the response to it has reopened debate about the role of government and the private sector in both a local and global context.

The crisis again raises the question of where public sector activity stops and private sector activity starts and will undoubtedly provoke fresh debate about many aspects of government policy and service provision.

The Australian community faces a dilemma: the logic of investing in the public service or carefully managing a massive deficit and the country’s credit ratings at a time that necessitates prudence.

Voices are already calling for cuts to the public service so one debate we will have is the need for a smaller or larger government?

A public policy specialist, Prof Glyn Davis AC served as vice-chancellor of the University of Melbourne from 2005 until 2018 and is a distinguished professor of political science in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. He is also chief executive officer of the Paul Ramsay Foundation, Australia’s largest philanthropic trust.

As secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from March 2008 until September 2011, Terry Moran AC was the most senior official in the Australian Public Service. Among many current roles, he is chair of the Centre for Policy Development — one of Australia’s leading independent policy institutes.

Join us for this Melbourne Forum event where two of the country’s foremost public policy specialists will explore the changing role of government in Australia.