Reforming the Federation White Paper

New survey data shows public servants in all three tiers of government generally support sharing responsibilities in health, education and the environment. So do citizens, despite strong arguments in favour of devolution.

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 Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government has released Australia’s most comprehensive study into community attitudes on local government. The paper’s author, Roberta Ryan outlines the major findings.

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.