John Phillimore

Does accelerating access to higher education lower its quality? The Australian experience

In the pursuit of mass higher education, fears are often expressed that the quality of higher education suffers as access is increased. This quantitative study considers three proxies of educational quality: (1) prior academic achievement of the student, (2) attrition and retention rates and (3) progression rates, to establish whether educational quality suffers when supply is significantly increased. The period of analysis (2009–2011) saw just such an increase in higher education places in Australia, as universities prepared for the removal of all caps on undergraduate domestic student places in 2012. Our analysis reveals that, whilst widening access results in more students with lower levels of academic achievement entering higher education, this does not necessarily equate to a lowering of educational quality. Furthermore, although on average student progression rates dropped slightly, retention rates actually increased in the majority of universities, suggesting high levels of student perseverance. In addition, there were already wide variations in attrition and progression rates between universities, and the changes observed between 2009 and 2011 did not lead to substantial alterations.

Public Sector Collaboration: Are We Doing It Well and Could We Do It Better?

Improving collaboration by public sector agencies is an important element of many public sector reforms. Common approaches include introducing responsibilities under legislation and policy decisions, the provision of information and guidance, and strengthening third-party oversight. To identify how collaboration is being practised, this paper reviews evidence from over one hundred reports by Auditors-General and Ombudsmen in Australia and New Zealand to identify key attributes of collaboration, and assesses these further by examining three reports in detail. It concludes that problems that have been known for many years continue to constrain public sector effectiveness. Although continuing existing approaches may assist in improving collaboration, the paper argues that there is a need to adopt more systematic approaches to organisational capacity for collaboration. It further identifies that changes in the external environment such as technology-based innovation may demand rapid progress and change in relation to collaboration.

Understanding Intergovernmental Relations: Key Features and Trends

This article discusses several features of intergovernmental relations (IGR), paying particular attention to IGR in federations. A number of recent trends and challenges are identified, and implications are drawn for the analysis of IGR. The article shows how IGR has traditionally been dominated by informal processes and power relationships, but that formalisation and institutionalisation have increased and can provide greater certainty and protection for sub-national governments in dealing with central government.

State and Territory Government Strategic Plans: Exercises in Managing, Monitoring and Marketing

All but three of the Australian States and Territories have whole-of-government, jurisdiction-wide strategic plans in place and the three exceptions had previously established a state plan in the decade after the first such plans were introduced by Tasmania and Victoria in 2001. Scholarly attention to date has been directed towards discrete aspects of state plans, such as the extent to which they can be seen as exercises in participative democracy or sustainability, rather than with examining state plans for what they explicitly purport to be – strategic plans originating in the core executive of government. We propose that there are three key strategic orientations for Australian state plans: to holistically manage, monitor and market government administration. These orientations may be competing, complementary or overlapping, and can vary over time. The article also proposes that state plans are a significant development in public management and warrant further and more detailed examination.

Collaboration by the public sector: findings by watchdogs in Australia and New Zealand

Drawing on an analysis of 112 watchdog reports that addressed collaboration, this paper concludes that governance issues make up a large proportion of all issues identified. Less commonly found were specific references to capacity and information management as important elements for effective collaboration. The evidence from watchdog reports confirms that collaboration remains very problematic for the public sector. Moreover, it is not evident that the wider public sector is drawing on this evidence extensively to learn and improve.

Benefits and risks of collaboration between watchdogs: the Western Australian experience

ABSTRACT There has been little discussion or analysis regarding how integrity agencies work together. This paper looks at Western Australian watchdog collaboration activities in the context of concerns raised by senior judicial and political figures. Issues addressed include whether such collaborative activities impinge on the independence of watchdogs, impede their ability to oversight each other, and whether such activities take them beyond their legislative remit. Analysis of practice revealed a wide array of collaboration activities of varying intensity. It was found that such collaboration enhanced watchdog effectiveness while the concerns expressed appeared over-stated. The analysis identified precautions required to protect watchdog independence and ensure accountability for collaborative activities, including steps to recognize and remove barriers to greater collaboration.

The Politics of Resource Development in Western Australia

This chapter places the past decade of rapid resource development growth within a longer tradition of developmentalism in Western Australian politics and society and the shift in the 1950s and 1960s to a growth model based on “a commitment to resource development by large-scale private capital undertaking large scale projects with assistance at all stages by State planning” (Layman 1982: 163). The chapter examines whether and to what extent the state has moved on from this development model. It begins with a description of the main features of the model circa 1982, the time of the last resource boom in Western Australia, and the external and internal challenges facing it at that time. It then outlines how the model has evolved and its political ramifications. The chapter finds that there is significant continuity and broad bipartisanship in Western Australian government policy and attitudes towards resource development, although there have been some important changes to how distributional conflicts have been played out, which has had consequences for party politics.

Trends in Australian government health expenditure by age: a fiscal incidence analysis.

OBJECTIVE Australian government health expenditure per capita has grown steadily across the past few decades, but little is known about trends in the age distribution of health expenditure. METHODS In this paper, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) fiscal incidence studies, which track expenditure at the household level between 1984 and 2010, are used to shed light on this topic. RESULTS The main finding was that spending has shifted focus from the younger half to the older half of the population. This shift is evident in three areas: (1) acute care (hospitals); (2) community health services (doctors); and (3) pharmaceuticals. Together, these areas account for approximately 88% of expenditure. The trend is independent of demographic aging. It is unlikely to reflect changes in population health. Its explanation is open to debate. CONCLUSIONS Growth in expenditure per household has been more than threefold faster for elderly than young households. Across this period, expenditure per household per week has increased by 51% for the young, by 79% for the middle aged and by 179% for the elderly. This age-related growth is most prominent in expenditure on acute care, community health services and pharmaceuticals. WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE TOPIC?: The Productivity Commission has published figures that relate age and Australian heath expenditure. However, there has been no published study of age-related trends in Australian health expenditure. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD?: In addition to tracking age-related trends across 26 years, this paper adds a breakdown of those trends into four categories of expenditure, namely acute care, community health services, pharmaceutical benefits, and other. This breakdown shows that the trends vary by expenditure type. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTITIONERS?: The paper shows that forward projections in health expenditure need to take into account age-related trends as well as demographic trends.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder late birthdate effect common in both high and low prescribing international jurisdictions: systematic review

Background Multiple studies have found that the youngest children in a classroom are at elevated risk of being diagnosed with, or medicated for, ADHD. This systematic review was conducted to investigate whether this late birthdate effect is the norm and whether the strength of effect is related to the absolute risk of being diagnosed/medicated. Methods A literature search of the PubMed and ERIC databases and snowball and grey literature searching were conducted. Results A total of 19 studies in 13 countries covering over 15.4 million children investigating this relationship were identified. Three other studies exploring related topics were identified. The diversity of methodologies prevented a meta‐analysis. Instead a systematic review of the 22 studies was conducted. A total of 17 of the 19 studies found that the youngest children in a school year were considerably more likely to be diagnosed and/or medicated than their older classmates. Two Danish studies found either a weak or no late birth date effect. There was no consistent relationship between per‐capita diagnosis or medication rates and the strength of the relative age effect, with strong effects reported in most jurisdictions with comparatively low rates. Conclusions It is the norm internationally for the youngest children in a classroom to be at increased risk of being medicated for ADHD, even in jurisdictions with relatively low prescribing rates. A lack of a strong effect in Denmark may be accounted for by the common practice of academic ‘redshirting’, where children judged by parents as immature have a delayed school start. Redshirting may prevent and/or disguise late birthdate effects and further research is warranted. The evidence of strong late birthdate effects in jurisdictions with comparatively low diagnosis/medication rates challenges the notion that low rates indicate sound diagnostic practices.

Intergovernmental councils and centralization in Australian federalism

ABSTRACT This paper explores how a high level of vertical intergovernmentalism and a low level of horizontal intergovernmentalism reflect as well as contribute to a high degree of centralization in Australian federalism and in the role and activity of intergovernmental councils (IGCs). Pre-eminent among the latter is the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), which sits at the apex of a system of ministerial councils and attendant agencies. Policy coordination is the principal motivation behind the Commonwealth’s use of COAG. The States established their own horizontal body in 2006 but that faded quickly in an experience that confirmed the underlying realities of Australian federalism.