State of the Nation

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State of the Nation critiques the policies and performance of the Rudd and Gillard governments in Australia since 2007 in diverse policy areas. It does so through the distinctive voices of fifteen distinguished and non-partisan Australians who are independent experts in their fields. The policy areas considered range from the resources sector, where real damage has been done to one of the great drivers of the Australian economy, to defence, where the absence of strategy and the deep cuts in spending have risked Australia's national security, from border protection, where hundreds of boatpeople have died trying to take advantage of lax Australian policies, to the National Broadband Network, where tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers' funds have been committed without proper process or adequate reporting. Other topics include trade and foreign policy, including the mismanagement of Australia's relations with China, social policy fields such as welfare reform, mental health, and homelessness, agriculture and regional Australia, culture and higher education - and, given the importance of good process in policy-making and public administration, an agenda for reform of the Australian public service. This book tells the sorry story of a failure of ideas, process, and leadership in Australia since 2007.