Kevin Rudd: a Professional Profile 59 the Queensland Office of the Cabinet 61 the Council of Australian Governments 69 Conclusion 77
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The Entrepreneurial Bureaucrat A Study of Policy Entrepreneurship in the Formation of a National Strategy to Create an Asia-Literate Australia Christopher fames Mackenzie Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by research in Victoria University of Technology August 2001 .. 11 Contents .. Contents 11 . Declarations V1 .. Acknowledgements V11 Abstract Vlll . Abbreviations lX Introduction Policy Entrepreneurship and the NALSAS Strategy 1 Context of the Study 5 Microeconomic, Public Sector and Intergovernmental Reform in Australia 5 Engagement with Asia and the Significance of Asian Studies 8 Significance of the Study 10 Research Methodology 12 The Case Study 12 Interview Data and Documentary Evidence 13 Data Analysis 19 Summary of Methodology 21 Preview of the Organisation of the Study 21 Chapter One: Entrepreneurship in Policy Making: Theoretical Perspectives Introduction 24 Policy Entrepreneurs 27 Placing the Entrepreneur in a Theoretical Framework 32 Theories of Policy Entrepreneurship 39 Conclusion 52 Chapter Two: The Entrepreneur: Location and Context Introduction 57 111 Kevin Rudd: A Professional Profile 59 The Queensland Office of the Cabinet 61 The Council of Australian Governments 69 Conclusion 77 Chapter Three: The Development of Asian Studies in Australian Schools Introduction 78 Making Education Policy in Australia 79 The Teaching of Asian Languages in Australia 81 The Auchmuty Report 83 The Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) 86 The National Policy on Languages 91 The Asian Studies Council 94 Projects and Initiatives 94 A National Strategy for the Study of Asia in Australia 96 The Desire for National Coordination 100 Disbanding the ASC 104 The Australian Languages and Literacy Policy (ALLP) 105 National Statement on Languages Other Than English 108 Conclusion 109 Chapter Four: The Making of the NALSAS Strategy Introduction 112 Part One: Origins and Opportunities The Queensland LOTE Initiative 114 Opposition to Labor's LOTE initiative in Queensland 119 The Key Players Behind the Queensland LOTE Initiative 123 Origins of the NALSAS Strategy and Reasons for its Pursuit 125 Keating on Asia: An Opportunity for Change 134 The Council of Australian Governments 136 Part Two: The Rudd Report: Content, Criticism and Resistance The Rudd Report 146 Criticisms of the Rudd Report 150 Selling the NALSAS Strategy: Australia's Economic Future in Asia 153 IV Commonwealth Resistance to Key Recommendations 157 The Nexus Between Language and Culture Skills and Economic Performance 158 The Issue of Compulsion 162 The Four Priority Asian Languages 168 Commonwealth Funding 170 The NALSAS T askforce 180 Conclusion 183 Chapter Five: Analysis of the NALSAS Strategy Policy Process in Terms of Policy Entrepreneurship Introduction 186 First Level Analysis 187 Innovation and Creativity: Attaching Solutions to Problems 187 Argumentation and Persuasion 190 Second Level Analysis 195 Alertness to Opportunity 196 Strategic Sense 198 Policy Image 198 Policy Venues 201 Bargaining 205 Networks, Trust and Credibility 208 Third Level Analysis 212 T aeries and Maneouvres 213 Institutions 215 Positional Power 221 The States and Federalism 226 Conclusion 230 Conclusion Introduction 231 Policy Entrepreneurship: Towards a Theoretical Framework 232 The Individual 233 The Interplay Between Individual and Context 235 Grounds for Further Research 237 Is the NALSAS Strategy an Innovation? 239 Implementation and Impact of the NALSAS Strategy 240 Final Reflections 242 v Appendix A Bibliography Primary Sources 245 Reports 245 Correspondence 250 Interviews 250 Speeches 252 Newspaper Reports 253 Unpublished Documents 254 Secondary Sources 254 Books and Articles 255 V1 Declarations I certify that this thesis does not incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree of diploma in any university; and that to the best of my knowledge and belief it does not contain any material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the tex Christopher James Mackenzie .. vu Acknowledgements To my Principal Supervisor, Professor Allan Patience, I must express my sincerest gratitude, not only for guiding me on this most extraordinary- intellectual journey and offering me unbounded encouragement, but also for being a friend and welcoming me into his home. Thanks must also be directed towards my co-supervisor, Professor John Power, for providing me with timely inspiration, the benefit of his experience in such matters and for providing a guiding hand. I wish to thank my colleagues in the Department of Asian and International Studies at Victoria University of Technology for their friendship and encouragement, and the Department itself for providing me with all of the facilities and many of the resources necessary to accomplish this task. For demonstrating great confidence and never losing faith in me, I must also thank my family and friends, particularly my parents Austin and Lorraine Mackenzie. I must also express gratitude to my kind, sensitive and loving partner, Br6na Murray, whose patience and understanding was enormously appreciated. I must also thank her for providing me with helpful technical support and for commenting on the penultimate draft of the thesis. Special thanks must go to Dr. John Dalton, who also responded to the penultimate draft. And finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank those who participated in this project, without whose assistance and cooperation this project would not have been possible. Vlll Abstract This study investigates how individual policy actors can influence policy making and become catalysts of change. Its main proposition is that actors who heavily influence policy making and become agents for change are necessarily involved in specific activities and demonstrate particular characteristics. The study employs the concept of 'policy entrepreneurship' to analyse an episode of policy making which occurred in Australia between 1992 and 1994. The study concludes that in performing certain functions policy entrepreneurs help to affect change, but in doing so are at once constrained and enabled by contextual forces. Based on the findings of the analysis a theoretical framework of policy entrepreneurship is developed which augments existing conceptions of policy entrepreneurship. The case studied is the 'National Asian Languages and Studies in Australian Schools Strategy' (NALSAS). The NALSAS Strategy was an initiative of the Queensland government which aims to promote and advance the teaching of Asian languages and studies in Australian schools. The NALSAS Strategy policy process was driven from the former Office of the Cabinet in Queensland. The then Director General of that Office, Mr Kevin Rudd, was the key protagonist and driver of the initiative. This study examines the policy process, particularly the characteristics demonstrated by Kevin Rudd and the activities in which he was invloved, from the perspective of policy entrepreneurship. The initial stages of the study canvas the literature on policy entrepreneurship, all of which originates from the US. It then proceeds to look in detail at the professional background of the individual at the center of the study, Kevin Rudd, and his position in the Queensland government of the then Premier, Wayne Goss. A key policy institution in the policy process, the Council of Australian Governments is also examined, especially its origins, achievments and operation. Important background information regarding the development of Asian languages and studies in Australian schools is presented which prepares the ground for a detailed reconstruction of the NALSAS Strategy policy process, using mainly interview data. This process is then analysed from the perspective of the literature on policy entrepreneurs. It concludes with the development of my own theoretical framework of policy entrepreneurship IX Abbreviations AACALP Australian Advisoiy Council on Australia's Language Policy AACLAME Australian Advisoiy Council on Languages and Multicultural Education AEC Australian Education Council AEF Asia Education Foundation AFMLTA Australian Federation of Modem Language Teachers Association ALLC Australian Language and Literacy Council ALLP Australian Language and Literacy Policy ALP Australian Labor Party ANTA Australian National Training Authority APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation ASAA Asia Studies Association of Australia ASC Asian Studies Council ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations ASLLP Australian Second Language Leaming Program ASP Asian Studies Program COAG Council of Australian Governments DEET Department of Education, Employment and Training DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade DPM&C Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet EAAU East Asia Analytical Unit LACU Language and Cultures Unit LOTE Languages Other Than English MCEETYA Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs MOVEET Ministerial Council on Vocational Education, Employment and Training NALSAS National Asian Languages/Studies in Australian Schools NLLIA National Language and Literacy Institute of Australia NPL National Policy on Languages PMO Prime Minister's Office SPC Special Premiers Conference TAPE Tertiaiy and Further Education us United States 1 Introduction Policy Entrepreneurship and the NALSAS Strategy The teaching of Asian languages and studies1 in Australian education can be traced back to 1866, when the first university appointment in Oriental Studies