POLITICS, POLICY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF PROFESSOR JOHN WANNA POLITICS, POLICY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE ESSAYS IN HONOUR OF PROFESSOR JOHN WANNA EDITED BY ANDREW PODGER, MICHAEL DE PERCY AND SAM VINCENT Published by ANU Press The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia Email: [email protected] Available to download for free at press.anu.edu.au ISBN (print): 9781760464363 ISBN (online): 9781760464370 WorldCat (print): 1247151126 WorldCat (online): 1247153553 DOI: 10.22459/PPPATP.2021 This title is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). The full licence terms are available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode Cover design and layout by ANU Press This edition © 2021 ANU Press Contents Preface . vii Ken Smith Foreword . xi Jim Chalmers Contributors . xv Portrait of a life enthralled in politics and academe . 1 John Wanna Section 1: Budgeting and financial management Introduction to Section 1: Public finance, budgeting and financial management . 15 1 . Reflections on John Wanna’s contributions to theory and practice . 19 Allen Schick 2 . Australian budgeting and beyond: Exploring John Wanna’s scholarly surplus . 25 Evert Lindquist 3 . Performance management for success: Public sector organisations in Australia and the Philippines . 45 Lewis Hawke 4 . A system in adjustment: Australia’s evolving public budget management system . 87 Stein Helgeby 5 . Contradictions in implementing performance management . .105 John Halligan Section 2: Politics Introduction to Section 2: Queensland and Australian politics . 135 6 . Cabinet government: The least bad system of government? . 139 Patrick Weller 7 . ‘A long revolution’: The historical coverage of Queensland politics and government . 155 Chris Salisbury 8 . Policymaking, party executives and parliamentary policy actors . .. 183 Marija Taflaga 9 . Models of government–business relations: Industry policy preferences versus pragmatism . 199 Michael de Percy Section 3: Public policy and administration Introduction to Section 3: Public policy and public administration . 231 10 . Beyond new public governance . 235 R . A . W . Rhodes 11 . Chinese public administration developments and prospects: An Australian (and Hong Kong) perspective . 263 Andrew Podger and Hon Chan 12 . Coming to terms with the state . 289 Jim Jose Section 4: Working with practitioners Introduction to Section 4: Working with practitioners . 323 13 . Engaging with government: A confessional tale . 329 Paul ’t Hart 14 . Neoliberalism? That’s not how practitioners view public sector reform . 335 Peter Shergold and Andrew Podger 15 . Of ‘trifles’ and ‘manhole covers’: The practitioner–academic interface . 379 Isi Unikowski Appendix 1: John Wanna’s main publications . 395 Appendix 2: Higher degree students supervised by John Wanna 1983–2020 . 417 Preface Ken Smith ANZSOG Dean This festschrift celebrates the extensive contribution John Wanna has made to the research and practice of politics, policy and public administration. John has had a close association with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) since its creation in 2003. In 2004, he was appointed the inaugural Sir John Bunting Professor of Public Administration at The Australian National University (ANU) and ANZSOG’s director of research. In this role he has ensured ANZSOG continues to bridge research and practice, guiding our conferences and workshops to address contemporary issues and challenges, drawing on known theoretical frameworks and academic research, while also promoting new research and organising publication of a broad range of material from both academics and practitioners, offering lessons from past and current public administration and policy issues for the future. After 15 years in this role, the ANZSOG series, which John edited for ANU Press, has produced over 50 books that have been downloaded well over 2 million times globally. John’s contribution goes well beyond his work for ANZSOG. He edited the Australian Journal of Public Administration (AJPA) for nearly 20 years, ensuring the journal was relevant to practitioners while also meeting exacting academic standards. I first met John in Queensland in the early 90s. He played a central role in Griffith University’s impressive team of public administration scholars in the 1990s and 2000s under Pat Weller’s leadership. And he has built a well-deserved international reputation comparing Australian practice and developments to those in a wide range of other countries. vii POLITICS, POLICy ANd PuBLIC Administration IN THEORy ANd PRACTICE As is made clear in this volume, John takes great care to engage actively with practitioners. He listens and observes. But he also appreciates the political context; and he draws on his expert understanding of political and administrative theory to question and critique. This book has been edited by Andrew Podger, Michael de Percy and Sam Vincent. Andrew has worked with John for over 25 years, first through the Institute of Public Administration Australia and the editorial board of AJPA, then, since 2005, at ANU. Andrew was also on ANZSOG’s foundation board and helped with the establishment of the Sir John Bunting chair at ANU. Michael completed his PhD under John, one of an impressive cohort of postdocs who have learned the importance of linking research and practice – three have chapters in the book. Sam has supported John in editing many of the books in the ANU Press ANZSOG series. A Walkley Award–winning writer, he has assisted again in the editing of this volume, which is a great testament to John’s career and contribution. The chapters in the book are in four sections, with an introduction to each prepared by the editors. • The first section focuses on budgeting and financial management, the field in which John is best known internationally. It includes several chapters with an international perspective, plus a chapter by a current Australian practitioner updating developments in financial management in Australia. • The second section addresses politics, both in Queensland and federally, and examines the changing relationship between politics and the public sector. • The third section focuses on policy and public administration, exploring broad international trends and developments in China (in which John has become very interested over the last 15 years), and revisiting the role and importance of the state. • The fourth section reviews aspects of the relationship between research and practice, a relationship that John has fostered throughout his career. viii PREfACE John has now retired from ANZSOG and ANU, having earned Academic Fellow status and ‘Emeritus professorial’ status at each institution, respectively. I have no doubt he will continue to make a major contribution to public administration research and practice, from now on as an elder statesman. We at ANZSOG wish him all the best and thank him for his wonderful contribution to the public sector and academia. ix Foreword Jim Chalmers Parliament House, Canberra This ANU Press book is a most appropriate way to commemorate the contribution John Wanna has made to the understanding of the practice of politics, public policymaking and public administration. It includes not only acknowledgement of John’s work by his peers, former students and practitioners, but additional material that builds on his work, provides updates on recent developments or reflects new perspectives on his work. Throughout the book are glimpses of John’s personal style, most notably his respect of practice and practitioners and his determination to understand the world of the practitioner. But there is more to his personality and style than this. I had the privilege of giving the dinner speech at the festschrift workshop held at The Australian National University (ANU) in September 2018. It was a light-hearted ‘roast’, not really suitable for publication in an ANU Press book, but behind it was heartfelt gratitude from so many people for his friendship and collegiality as well as his ability to inspire and educate. John is an outstanding expert on public sector management, public policy and public finance. But these were not his initial interests, which have evolved over time. I knew John was from Adelaide when Pat Weller appointed him to Griffith University along with Glyn Davis. Both arrived in 1985 and began teaching in 1986. Pat chose wisely, and Griffith became the leading public administration school in Australia. xi POLITICS, POLICy ANd PuBLIC Administration IN THEORy ANd PRACTICE In Adelaide, John had had a more radical reputation. His first book featured a bright red cover with a clenched fist; it was calledDefence Not Defiance: The Development of Organised Labour in South Australia. John had also been a bass player in a punk rock band he joined during his third undergraduate year at Adelaide Uni in the 1970s. It was called Diamond Dice. They played in Brighton, South Australia, and then went to the UK, playing a few gigs in London pubs. They had an old 1950s ambulance for a van in which they could sleep if necessary. The van finally broke down and was cremated by the roadside. John continued his studies in Adelaide, completing his PhD on industrial relations. His conversion from Adelaide industrial relations radical punk to respected and respectable public policy expert came with the 1988 publication of Public Policy in Australia, co-authored