Critical lessons from the mill debacle

The “consultants” stated “(We) have no expertise in property valuation, and therefore the assessment of the impact on housing prices was limited to existing research that had been undertaken by … Gunns.” Gunns later used the Monash model as confirmation that property prices would increase.

Meanwhile, the taxpayer was represented by no one except themselves, and at their own expense.

What needs to happen

Governments need to make certain that all proposals that use public monies, resources or assets, are thoroughly and independently reviewed in all cases. Federal Treasury has guidelines to that effect but they are only guidelines and thus, can be ignored without penalty.

While the idea of due diligence doesn’t sound very sexy, it’s methods present a vital protection for existing communities and industries, as well as helping protect large system buyers (like Gunns) from making egregious errors.

Everyone who can needs to demand that our governments represent taxpayers first and foremost, and acts to protect taxpayer interests before acting for large corporations. Until and unless we do, the likes of Paul Lennon and his band of mates can reset our sights downwards, charge everything to us and leave us to handle whatever problems come up.

Defining performance

If the government has got a job to do, we all need to know what that job is supposed to be, otherwise we cannot vote rationally on performance. If we don’t agree with the job description, we need to use whatever processes are available to change it. If the government is not doing its job, then we need to act at the ballot box.

Of course, none of this is possible when we don’t even know what the state government is supposed to be doing, when whoever is elected can arbitrarily re-invent their own roles and responsibilities.

It’s time that the federal government defined the state’s roles and responsibilities. Let’s hope Kevin Rudd can pull that off.