It's time for smaller government

However, the forces of big government marshalled against us are enormous. Government spending has created a legion of vested interests with incentives to vote for even greater largesse. Unwinding the tendrils of the state from every aspect of our lives is easier said than done.

These difficulties in reducing spending are why TARGET30 proposes a practical and achievable target for reducing government spending. TARGET30 can be met by holding government spending constant in per capita terms. It is a compromise between the economic ideal and what is realistic.

A good starting point for the next government is an audit of all existing government departments and programs to determine what programs are really necessary, and what programs are effective. Too often, the results from government programs are not examined, and where spending is ineffective, often the answer is simply more spending.

Cutting economically harmful programs (such as industry protectionism) would generate strong benefits for the economy in the medium term as well as reducing spending. Another idea that would generate additional positive benefits while reducing spending is to eliminate the massive duplication of functions at the state and federal levels.

Productivity and competition must become Australia's mantra. Productivity improvements in the public sector workforce (not just cuts to overall numbers) will go a long way towards meeting TARGET30 and enabling Australia to maintain a social safety net for an ageing population.

Australia needs a serious debate about the size of government. By acting now to cut waste and inefficiency from government, we can ensure that Australia will be able to afford the services it needs in the future. Cutting unaffordable and wasteful spending now when the economy is strong will avoid the downside of enforced structural adjustments down the track.

TARGET30 is an important campaign and small government is an important issue. The future prosperity of our country is at stake.