What ails good governance in Australia?

Recently, it has been observed that the statements made by government officials and ministers have been completely in contradiction with the realities. This is mainly because of the government’s short-sightedness and the fact that it has only a limited idea about what really are the needs of the Australian people.

The governments’ policies on population growth, immigration and the NBN, as announced by Ms Gillard during the election campaign provide a good example to illustrate this point.

The basic business plans and proposals of the NBN, along with the future investments being made by telecom giants like Telstra and Optus are being made with the prediction that Australia will be 35 million-strong by 2050.

However, Ms Gillard’s arguments about building a “sustainable Australia” would mean that if this country does not have that many people by the time the NBN project and the other investments of the telecom giants are realised, existing tax payers would have to bear the brunt of the costs being incurred by the investing public institutions.

These costs would be incurred in the face of significantly higher internet and phone bills that could further push up the already rising costs of living.

The government’s immigration policies clearly demonstrate the limits of their political short-sightedness. Recent research has shown that any reduction in the intake of immigrant labour would not only aggravate our skills shortage problems, but could also increase inflation, reduce Australia’s economic competitiveness internationally and ensure high bank interest rates for the foreseeable future.

The federal government has failed to understand these implications of its new, flawed immigration policy.

The unwillingness of the country’s ALP governments to acknowledge the real issues and crises that ordinary Australians have to face every day, has already resulted in a decisive swing against the Labour, federally, and in Western Australia and Victoria.

If the ALP wants to arrest this free fall and turn the tables back on the opposition, it needs to deliver on governance issues. It must work concertedly at a national level to ensure that the key sectors of the Australian economy and society do not face more years of mismanagement and neglect.