From the Editor Chris Berg t’s not too often that we can look enviously at the political Belian has written, the inability of the Belgian Parliament to state of a country buried deep in the European Union. approve European Commission directives means that ‘in its IBrussels is not just the capital of Belgium, but it is also hour of ungovernability Belgium is now more sovereign than the de facto capital of the EU, hosting the European Com- it has been in the past 50 years.’ mission, the Council of the European Union, the European This special edition of the IPA Review arrives in newsa- Council and one of the seats of the European Parliament. gencies and letterboxes at a significant moment for the cause So it is either fitting or ironic (I can’t figure out which) of limited government and open society in Australia. At the that Belgium has now been, for more than six months, without dramatic end of a nominally liberal/conservative govern- a government to call its own. As we quietly recover from the ment, we have assembled the nation’s best liberal and con- shrill hangover of the 2007 federal election, it’s worth consider- servative commentators to try to describe the legacy of the ing how Australia could have been if no government had been Howard government and the causes of its demise. But more successfully elected in November. importantly, this IPA Review en- Since the 10th of June, Belgian gages with the question—what politicians have been—at least as It’s worth considering next for liberalism? Has the cause this edition of the IPA Review goes of liberty advanced or retreated to press—unable to form a govern- how Australia could over the last decade? What are the ment coalition. This failure is the next steps? result of the adversarial relationship This edition also contains the between French and Dutch speak- have been if no full complement of non-election ing political classes, in particular, related commentary. Sam Gregg from the demand by Flemish na- government had engages with Christian leaders tionalists for more autonomy over who would ignore or reject free taxation and welfare policy in Flan- been successfully market economics for a socialist ders (a region that has traditionally Christianity, Paul Monk holds favoured centre right parties; the anti-nuclear campaigners up to francophone region of Wallonia elected in November the harsh light of logic, and Chris appropriately prefers their politics Murn tries to host a Christmas to have a more socialistic flavour.) The former government street party. Pieces by Alan Moran, as well as Sinclair David- remains in power, but only in a caretaker capacity, and the son, Alex Robson and Chris Textor, dig further behind the semi-former prime minister is set to step down once a re- claims of price-fixing by Visy and Amcor and reveal that not placement government is available. every criminal has committed a crime. Sure, not having a government has its disadvantages. Even without a functioning government, Belgian gov- The great economic reforms which have propelled Australia ernment services continue to be delivered. Rubbish is still up the ranks of economic performance would not be possible collected, social security payments are provided—even, as from a government that couldn’t get out of caretaker mode. Paul Belian points out, taxes continue to be collected. While Similarly, the important reforms Australia needs—workplace the government is in caretaker mode, government activity changes which deliver deregulation rather than centralisation, cannot be reduced, but neither can it be extended. the sale of remaining government enterprises, reform of com- As a result, the promises of more pork and populist ex- munications and occupational safety regulation, corporate tensions of middle class welfare which characterise Australian and financial services deregulation, and so on—all require a federal election campaigns may, indeed, obscure the fact that rather active government. when the federal government is in caretaker mode for the But on the positive side of the ledger, having no govern- election, that could be the best six weeks that government ment also means having a government that can’t mess things ever has. Cynics should hope for stalemate and inertia. up. Governments cannot extend their reach into the econo- my without a capacity to legislate. I P A Indeed, as Belgium is a central member of the EU, no government also means no government able to increase its international obligations. As the Flemish free-marketeer Paul JANUARY 2008 R E V I E W Volume 59 Number 4 Inside this issue Jan 2008 Editorial 40 Four points on federalism Why ‘passing the buck’ could make good public policy 3 From the Executive Director and good political strategy. Richard Allsop 5 Christianity and the market How church leaders ignore the Christian tradition of 43 A revolution in healthcare economic liberty. Samuel Gregg Medicine meets the marketplace. Fred Hansen 9 Confusion and logic in the nuclear power debate? 46 In harm’s way Paul Monk How ‘health promotion’ has damaged the relationship between doctor and patient. Brian Bedkober 2 Council regulations crash street parties Christopher Murn 50 University research THE HOWARD LEGACY The need for paying customers. Sinclair Davidson 4 What next? Liberalism after the Howard government. Chris Berg 52 Cyclones, rainfalls and temperature: Does Australia have a climate crisis? Jennifer Marohasy 6 The clearest in the West: Australia’s happy warriors. Mark Steyn 55 What’s the appeal of “totalitarian chic”? 9 Fighting the last war Tim Wilson The construction reforms—not WorkChoices—were the real industrial relations issues in the 2007 campaign. Ken Phillips 57 Competition and the cartel crusade Alan Moran 22 Awkward problems in social policy Women and welfare after Howard. Louise Staley 60 Theft? What has been stolen? Sinclair Davidson, Alex Robson & Chris Textor 25 Liberalism must evolve to match generational shifts Tim Wilson BOOK REVIEWS 6 Louise Staley reviews Nanny State: How Food Fascists, 28 Everything’s changed? Teetotaling Do-Gooders, Priggish Moralists, and Other The Liberals have locked in conservative government. Boneheaded Bureaucrats Are Turning America into a Tom Switzer Nation of Children 29 Howard forgot to govern for individuals 63 Jennifer Marohasy reviews Australian Agriculture: Its Christian Kerr History and Challenges 3 Liberalism after 2007 64 Scott Hargreaves reviews The White Man’s Burden:Why A blueprint for leadership. Greg Hunt the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good 33 John Howard, environmentalist Jennifer Marohasy 66 Richard Allsop reviews No Way To Go: Transport and Social Disadvantage in Australian Communities 37 Status quo conservatism The Coalition’s taxing and spending record. Des Moore 68 Strange Times Editor: Chris Berg. Associate Editor: Hugh Tobin. Executive Director: John Roskam. Printed by: Pinnacle Printing, 288 Dundas Street, Thornbury VIC 3071. Published by: The Institute of Public Affairs Ltd (Incorporated in the ACT) ACN 008 627 727. Level 2, 410 Collins Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000. Phone: (03) 9600 4744. Fax: (03) 9602 4989. E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ipa.org.au Unsolicited manuscripts welcomed. However, potential contributors are advised to discuss proposals for articles with the Editor. Views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IPA.Reproduction : The IPA welcomes reproduction of written material from the IPA Review, but for copyright reasons the Editor’s permission must first be sought. From the Executive Director John Roskam ohn Howard got the big things right. At the We won’t know the outcome of the Iraq invasion for years, if not domestic level, he understood the importance decades. Into the future Iraq will most likely define the way history Jof responsible economic management. At the treats John Howard, Tony Blair, and George W Bush. The political international level, he knew that September 11 was reasons why Australia supported the invasion were complex and var- an attack not only against the United States—it was ied. Howard’s personal reasons for the invasion came closest to those an attack against every country that upheld liberal of Blair—although Howard never expressed them as eloquently as did democratic values. He was not afraid to defend Blair. For Howard and Blair if a people could be freed from totalitarian those values. oppression they should be. Over the eleven years of his prime minister- John Howard had a faith in the Australian people. He didn’t talk ship what most infuriated his opponents was the down to them, he didn’t preach to them, and he didn’t take them for fact that he knew what he believed in. Not only granted. Certainly he had assumptions about the Australian people— this—John Howard also knew that belief in some- and it’s true that some of those assumptions were grounded in his early thing was possible. This is a possibility denied by life experiences. His affection for cricket was just a little bit fey—but he the postmodern left—for them belief is impossible, didn’t think less of anyone because they didn’t like cricket as much as he and there’s nothing to believe in anyway. did. When Howard said that Australia was the best country in the world John Howard’s belief that human rights had a he meant it. When Menzies, Whitlam, and Keating finished in politics universal application to everyone, everywhere, all the first thing they did was head off overseas. It’s difficult to imagine that of the time angered the left. For the left, human Howard will follow them. rights protection is delivered via a mandate from In his concession speech on the evening of the federal election result the United Nations.