The Howard Government and Political Management
The Challenge of Policy Activism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6234680 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jenny Stewart (0000-0001-8804-8196, University of Canberra), Maria Maley (0000-0003-4555-5352, Australian National University) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 277-293 |
| Publication date | 2007-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1036-1146 • E-ISSN: 1363-030X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10361140701320026 |
| OpenAlex | W1973856069 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 16 |
Although the distinctive values promulgated by successive Howard governments have been extensively analysed, less attention has been paid to the manner of their incorporation into policy. This article maps the ways in which policy processes were managed to achieve values-change in the Howard decade (1996-2006), focusing on the policy subsystem at the apex of government. Three case studies are investigated in detail: the development of welfare to work policies; strategies to combat illicit drugs; and industrial relations legislation. We show how Prime Minister Howard's leadership was built around a highly personalised system of political control, based on the seizing of opportunities as they arose; the engineering of policy networks; and the alignment of key resources such as the Cabinet Office; the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and senior bureaucratic leadership with the Prime Minister's policy priorities. We show that this system made possible very rapid policy development, but was also associated with deficits in policy-related research and with a degree of implementation risk whereby minimal consultation had occurred. Some comparisons are drawn with governments of the Hawke-Keating period, which were more technocratic in approach
Bureaucracy · Cabinet (room · Government (linguistics · Legislation · Legislature · Political science · Politics · Prime minister · Technocracy · Work (physics · Engineering · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Political Systems and Governance · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research
Public administration in the Australian Journal of Political Science
Public policy in the Australian Journal of Political Science
Examining the construction and representation of drugs as a policy problem in Australia's National Drug Strategy documents 1985–2010
Governing drug use through partnerships
The Politics of Learning
Problems, policy and politics
Neoliberalism at the borders of transnational policy
Strategic Links in a Cut‐throat World
Narratives and counter-narratives of political strategy
More choice for women? A discursive formation of the Howard government’s tax and transfer reforms
A Rhetoric of Change
A diabolical challenge
Agendas, alternatives, and public policies
Australian Liberals and the Moral Middle Class
Re‐thinking Australian Governance
The meaning of strategy in the public sector
Regeneration
A Healthy Public Service is a Vital Part of Australia's Democratic System of Government The Sir Robert Garran Oration, 19 November 1997, Canberra
Prime Ministers and Cabinets
Social Science Research and Public Policy
Leadership and Institutional Reform
Advising Howard
Conceptualising Advisers' Policy Work
Value Conflict and Policy Change
| Unique citing works | 12 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,75 |
| Citation span | 2010 - 2025 (16) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 12 |