Cheryl Saunders

An outline for the structure of new arrangements for the national cabinet has been released. It calls for 30 ministerial forums or regulatory councils that need to be ‘consolidated and reset’.

Longer parliamentary terms? More free votes by MPs? Party publication of membership numbers and financial details each year? All proposals for consideration in a new report endorsed by 13 high-profile former public servants and ministers.

Ireland shows the importance of citizen input and that it’s possible to have a directly elected president who won’t interfere with politics, Professor Cheryl Saunders tells soon-to-depart Melbourne University Vice Chancellor Glyn Davis.

FEATURE: The scrapping of the federation white paper and new conditions on education funding show federalism has taken a back seat in the government’s priorities, say observers. How did it come to this?

Described as Australia’s first “Camp David” summit, the leaders of Australia’s three tiers of government unanimously backed a statehood bid for the Northern Territory and keep GST changes on the table as they prepare to knuckle down on federation reform at the next COAG meeting.

The government’s federalism white paper process has been “inconsistent” and “opaque”, top legal expert Cheryl Saunders said at Tuesday’s John Button Oration. Although Australians are obsessed with ending vertical fiscal imbalance, maybe it’s not even necessary.