Creating a Public Policy Tapestry

03 Apr Creating a Public Policy Tapestry

I like to have my hands occupied. So, when I watch TV, I am usually doing something with my hands. One of these things is tapestry.

In their final form, tapestries can look good as cushion-covers or wall adornments.

When people ask me how long it takes to finish a tapestry, the answer is “100s or even 1,000s of hours”. That is just the actual tapestry. Before that, you need to choose the right ingredients – tapestry design and cottons – which can be wool, plain cotton or shiny cotton. And you need the right tools, some good tapestry needles (that won’t prick your fingers) and a tapestry holder. As you do the tapestry, you want to pay attention to use the right colours and right stitches in the right places, so the pattern comes together well. It’s also recommended to start with the dark colours, as the pale colours can become dirty with all the handling of the tapestry.

Creating good government decisions is similar to creating a beautiful tapestry.

1. Start with the right tools
   • decide the high level outcomes you want to achieve (see December 2024 edition for more information)
2. Choose the right ingredients
   • industry expertise
   • research to make sure you understand the current public policy environment, including:
     • the impacts on, and opinions of, other stakeholders who you may not agree with
     • current government regulation (including legislation and other decisions)
     • in the case that government has issued formal interpretations of the law, whether that interpretation is the only or best interpretation (eg the ATO issues its interpretations of tax law)

1. Create (and advocate for) your solution
   • create a working group with the right expertise to discuss your research and the high level outcomes you are aiming for
   • together, you will create a document that explains the current situation, the outcomes you seek and how your preferred outcomes improve the situation for Australia as a whole
2. Keep going
   • just like the tapestry takes 100s or 1,000s of hours to finish, public policy is a slow process that you need to commit to.
     • don’t give up until you reach the outcome you want

At the end of all that, you should have something beautiful to look back on and be proud of.

This article comes from my column entitled “Here to Help” in Hunter Local, April 2025. If you have an everyday problem just begging for a simple, real world solution, send it to “Here to Help” and let’s see what we can achieve.

Elaine Abery has a closet full of great ideas and empowering solutions. She’s also the Director of Unravelling Red Tape, a company dedicated to helping everyday people, not-for-profits and companies change the world through improved decision-making and legislation.