To Do… Or Not to Do?

11 Sep To Do… Or Not to Do?

Dear Here to Help,

I often wonder who in government comes up with some of the ideas that get rolled out and have such a big impact on people and their lives. I also often wonder why or how these ideas were able to go ahead and if there’s any way that they could have been stopped.

You would not be on your own with these thoughts.

These ideas are called “public policy” and there are a few stages of public policy to consider. First, someone comes up with an idea. Second, that idea is researched, preferably by consulting a broad range of community and industry groups. Third, the idea is announced. Fourth, government staff work to make that idea happen. Fifth, legislation is created or the decision is finalised some other way.

Often, the first step involves a particular industry group approaching government with their idea. Sometimes, like jobkeeper, government comes up with the idea in reaction to special circumstances.

The second step involves government or political staff researching how to implement the idea. Again, government usually, but not always, talks to some industry groups – ideally, a broad cross-section of industry groups. And again, ideally, government takes on board their input. However, when government wants to be seen to act quickly and decisively, sometimes it does not take on board industry feedback. This happened with jobkeeper – many of its shortcomings were predicted by some industry groups.

These first two steps are always the easiest time to either halt, or redirect more appropriately, a public policy idea, so that it fulfils its purposes for the community. Once the idea is announced, it can be a bit like a snowball and hard to stop as it gains momentum.

However, in the first two steps is that the idea has not been announced yet. So many people do not understand how much work goes into stopping, or redirecting, an idea that has not been made public. This often makes it hard for industry associations to demonstrate value for money to members when they stop, or redirect, these ideas at such an early stage. After all, it never happened, so what’s the problem, some may ask.

As the public policy progresses through the third to fifth steps, it becomes harder and harder to turn the idea around, to make it work better for the Australian community as a whole. It can become a bit like a runaway snowball.

The best time to stop, or change, a public policy idea, is early in its life. The earlier, the better.

So remember to start your advocacy efforts early in the life of an issue – before the snowball has started rolling. With persistence, you can succeed.

This article comes from my column entitled “Here to Help” in Hunter Local, September 2021. 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.