1 / 21

Local Government and the ‘Productivity Challenge’

Local Government and the ‘Productivity Challenge’. The Australia and New Zealand School of Government 2014 LGMA National Congress and Business Expo 2 May 2014 Melbourne. Gary Banks AO. The RBA Governor’s list.

dom
Download Presentation

Local Government and the ‘Productivity Challenge’

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Local Government and the ‘Productivity Challenge’ The Australia and New Zealand School of Government 2014 LGMA National Congress and Business Expo 2 May 2014 Melbourne Gary Banks AO

  2. The RBA Governor’s list “The Productivity Commission has a long list of things to do. My answer to what we can do about productivity is: go get the list and do them.” Glenn Stevens, June 2012 2

  3. Incentives • Abolish remaining tariffs and constrain anti-dumping • Terminate selective industry assistance that fails ‘the public benefit test’ • Phase out government local procurement preferences • Conduct a second, more targeted, NCP legislation review Capabilities • Human capital • enhance teacher quality, school governance, VET provision, … • Innovation system • re-focus on market failures and adopt more ‘nimble’ processes, … • Infrastructure • better utility governance, CBAs for major investments, cost-reflective pricing, … • Government services • more choice and contestability, … Flexibility • Workplace regulation balance • Environmental regulation (native vegetation, …) • Transaction taxes (stamp duty, …) • Occupational licensing • Zoning, development approvals • Sectoral red tape (chemicals, …) • Strengthen ‘mutual recognition’ A (long) ‘to do’ list 3

  4. Labour productivity supported real wage growth 4

  5. Is high old-age participation desirable in itself? 5

  6. A Nobel laureate’s mantra “Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is nearly everything.” Prof Paul Krugman, MIT 6

  7. Intergenerationally, productivity matters most “Worst” “Best” Worst Best “Worst” “Best” “Worst” “Best” Worst Best 55% 63% 1.2% 2.0% 81% 86% 30 34 7% 3.5 Productivity rate Unemployment rate Participation rate Hours Per week Working Age share 7

  8. The demographic challenge: growth falls, ‘social’ spending rises 8

  9. Australia’s productivity slowdown 9

  10. Organisational productivity improvement requires innovation Doing old things (products, processes, relationships…) in new ways Doing new things

  11. Policy drivers and enablers of productivity Competition, regulation, budgetary assistance Reason to be more productive Incentives Skills, infrastructure provision, organisational capital Capabilities Ability to be more productive Flexibility Workplace and other regulation, red tape 11

  12. The incentives ‘to do’ list Abolish remaining tariffs and terminate selective industry assistance that fails a ‘net benefits test’ Phase out government procurement preferences Conduct a (follow-up) NCP-style review of anti-competitive regulations 12

  13. The capability ‘to do’ list • Human capital • enhance teacher quality, VET provision, … • Innovation system • re-focus on market failures and adopt more ‘nimble’ processes, … • Infrastructure • better utility governance, CBAs for major investments, cost-reflective pricing, … • Government services • more choice and contestability, … 13

  14. The flexibility ‘to do’ list Workplace regulation Transaction taxes (stamp duty, …) Occupational licensing Sectoral red tape (chemicals, …) Strengthen ‘mutual recognition’ Environmental regulation Zoning, development approvals 14

  15. Some complaints of (big) business Conflicting and overlapping regulations across jurisdictions Inconsistent advice within jurisdictions Complexity of processes Excessive delays 15

  16. Key aspects of regulatory analysis • Justifying (additional) action • Assessing (feasible) options • Consulting throughout! 16

  17. Elements of effective consultation • Timely • Targeted at the right groups (in the right way) • Adequate basis for feedback • Adequate time to respond • Demonstrated listening 17

  18. Local Government services are extensive Roads, pathways, bridges, drainage Water and sewerage Waste collection, recycling Child care and aged care services Sports, recreation and community facilities Community housing Public transport Heritage protection Environmental and health management and controls Etc

  19. Drivers and enablers of productivity Contestability Reason to be more productive Incentives Skillsdevelopment, leadership Capabilities Ability to be more productive Flexibility Workplace regulation, red tape 19

  20. 20

More Related