Two more issues papers – on health and housing and homelessness – have been released to inform the White Paper on the Reform of the Federation.
The issues papers will promote discussion ahead of the White Paper and were developed in consultation with the States and Territories and the Australian Local Government Association.
Our Federation has helped to shape a free, fair and prosperous nation.
However, after a century of encroachment, the Commonwealth is financially responsible for services it doesn’t deliver and can’t control.
The challenge is to create a more rational system of government; one that realises the benefits of reduced overlap and duplication between levels of government and seeks to resolve the mismatch between what States are supposed to deliver and what they can afford to pay for.
These latest issues papers trace government involvement in health care, housing assistance and homelessness services since Federation and outline pressures on current arrangements and services.
They canvass questions about how the current split of roles and responsibilities could be changed to alleviate some of the pressures and lead to improved services for Australians.
The first issues paper, ‘A Federation for Our Future’, was released in September.
Further issues papers will be released on education and federal financial relations.
A Green Paper outlining specific reform options will be released in the second half of 2015. Public submissions will be invited on the Green Paper.
The White Paper will be delivered by the end of 2015.
The issues papers are available on the Federation White Paper website www.federation.dpmc.gov.au.
12 December 2014