Poverty A Precarious Public Policy Idea Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership Poverty and th

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Poverty A Precarious Public Policy IdeaCape
York Institute for Policy and LeadershipPoverty
and the Public Policy Agenda
Dr David Adams Executive Director, Strategic
Policy and Research Division Visiting Fellow,
Australian National University 13 August 2004
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Features of powerful ideas

• Easy to understand
• Resonate with peoples experiences of the world
• Make normative ought claims on resources
• Few or weak ideas to compete with
• Fit the department and program format
• Solve immediate and significant problems
• Policy network to nurture them

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Poverty eradication what went wrong?

• Poverty line replaced by a gini co-efficient
• Out of sight out of mind Im OK and its a
  crowded agenda
• In need but no longer deserving
• Plethora of new ideas on the left and right
• So which government and department is
  responsible?
• It didnt work wrong theory, wrong policy,
  no money
• Where are the leaders?
• Too many rights, not enough shared
  responsibilities

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The Tricky Theory - Questions
Does policy happen like this (rational, linear,
purposive) (incrementalism)
(historical)
(paradigm shift) (chaos
theory)
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What works?

• Importance of assets and micro financing
• Importance of land use planning
• Importance of community capital
• Endowment
• Knowledge
• Capability
• Governance
• Long term change strategy
• Vision that is not a pie in the sky

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What doesnt work?

• More pilots than Qantas
• More visions than Mother Teresa
• 1,844 outputs strategy
• Planning fetish
• Programs causing anything
• Thinking departments can dance

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What to do?

• Organise and or direct action
• Iconic symbols and words principles / actions
• Some basic data that matters
• New governance arrangements
• Area based plan just one
• Pooled resources
• Governments
• Markets
• Communities
• Intergenerational outlook
• Local team approach
• Understand new time and space