ANU Emeritus Faculty Annual Lecture: A Post-Neoliberal Public Sector

The term, 'neoliberal' has too often been used as a pejorative label without definition. Moreover, many measures that might justifiably be described as neoliberal have served Australia well. But there is increasing evidence both in Australia and overseas of overreach, expecting too much of markets, expecting too much of public servants in drawing on markets to deliver public services, applying private business practices to public sector organisations, and undervaluing the public interest motivations driving many who work in the public sector.

This lecture will explore the term, neoliberal, and its antecedents of nineteenth century liberalism. It will review the reforms of the 1980s and 1990s that might warrant being described as neoliberal including both the benefits achieved as well as the failures to deliver what was intended. It will also discuss more recent developments highlighting the real dangers of overreach and the need for more fundamental reappraisal.

A more fundamental reappraisal should not involve throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but lead to a rebalancing, recognising the importance of the role of government in a thriving liberal democracy, the unique attributes involved in its management, the case for reinvestment in its capability and the importance of checks and balances including the need for a degree of professional independence in public sector organisations to promote both good performance in service delivery and proper accountability.

Andrew Podger AO has been with the ANU now for 18 years. He is Honorary Professor of Public Policy in the RSSS. His background is in the Australian Public Service where he worked in many agencies, starting in the Australian Bureau of Statistics and ending as Public Service Commissioner after being the Secretary of the Department of Health and Aged Care amongst other senior appointments. He has published extensively on public service matters as well as on social policies. Earlier this year he provided a report to the Royal Commission on Robodebt to which the Commissioner refers extensively in her report. Two books he co-edited have been published by ANU Press this year, one on the Intergenerational Report (More than Fiscal) and one on public administration in China and Australia (Dilemmas in Public Management in Greater China and Australia). He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a Fellow of the (US) National Academy on Public Administration.