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Policy innovation

The Council for the Australian Federation is committed to new and innovative policy responses to support the national interest.

Federalism

As part of CAF's role in promoting and harnessing Australia's federal system of government, CAF commissioned a report examining the future of federalism in Australia. The report, Australia's Federal Future by Glenn Withers and Anne Twomey, highlighted the opportunities for growth and prosperity within the federal framework and identified areas for reform in Commonwealth-State relations.

Some of the benefits of federalism highlighted in the report are:

  • Checks on power: greater scrutiny of government actions helps to reduce the incidence of corruption
  • Choice: people can vote for different parties at the national level and State level, and if dissatisfied, seek redress from the other
  • Customisation of policies: federalism allows policies and services to be tailored to meet the needs of communities
  • Competition: competition between States and Territories provides incentives to improve performance
  • Creativity: States and Territories need to be innovative and to experiment in order to compete with other jurisdictions
  • Co-operation: the need to cooperate on reform gives greater legitimacy and support

Download Australia's Federal Future, published in April 2007, PDF (2.9 MB) Word (5.7 MB).

Climate Change

During 2006-07, CAF took leadership on the critical issue of climate change and at the February 2007 meeting its members issued the Council for the Australian Federation Declaration on Climate Change which accepted the scientific evidence of the impact of human activity on the global climate.

Download the Council for the Australian Federation Declaration on Climate Change, PDF (27 KB) Word (48 KB).

The Garnaut Climate Change Review

In April 2007 CAF commissioned eminent academic and economist, Professor Ross Garnaut, to undertake a review of the impacts of climate change on the Australian economy and to make recommendations on medium to long-term policies to improve the prospects for sustainable prosperity.

The Australian Prime Minister, the Hon. Kevin Rudd MP, has since confirmed the Commonwealth Government's involvement in the Review. The Review's final report was released on 30 September 2008. For more details view Garnaut Climate Change Review website at: http://www.garnautreview.org.au/.

National Emissions Trading Taskforce

Substantial work was undertaken by CAF through its National Emissions Trading Taskforce (NETT), including detailed economic modelling of potential designs for a greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme.

The NETT's work on designing an emissions trading scheme is a key input into the further development of emissions trading scheme currently being undertaken by the Federal Government.

Work undertaken by NETT and plans for an Australian emissions trading scheme is detailed at: http://www.emissionstrading.org.au/

Best Practice Climate Change Initiatives

CAF has compiled a stocktake of climate change initiatives across jurisdictions, which showcases current best practices policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. It is designed to promote collaboration and information sharing across sub-national jurisdictions in Australia and internationally.

For examples of climate change policy innovation by individual States and Territories, view the document Climate Change: Best Practice by State and Territory Governments in Australia, published October 2008, PDF (510 KB) Word (227 KB).

Education reform

CAF is committed to practical policy reforms to improve the quality of education across Australia. The importance of high quality schooling in delivering equality of opportunity and economic prosperity across Australia has been acknowledged in CAF's eight point action plan, which recommends:

  • Working towards national curricula
  • Testing to improve student achievement
  • Reporting on performance
  • Supporting workforce reform
  • Harmonising teacher registration
  • Reducing red tape
  • Convening a biennial national forum to share innovative educational reforms
  • A Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) process for agreeing a new declaration on the future of schooling in Australia.

The CAF action plan now serves to inform implementation of the Commonwealth's educational reform agenda through MCEETYA.

CAF's policy recommendations on schooling reform are described in detail in the document The Future of Schooling in Australia, published in September 2007, PDF (891 KB).