Bringing us all along for the ride
Leaders must target support so more Tasmanians can benefit from and contribute to growth, writes Richard Eccleston
STATE Parliament got off to a belated start on Tuesday, with the Premier delivering the annual State of the State address.
As expected, the speech summarised the Tasmanian Government’s key achievements and signalled a long list of initiatives for the year ahead.
Successful political leadership has a number of dimensions. One vital, but all too often lacking, characteristic of good leadership is the conviction and commitment to implement the policies governments advocate and believe in. Indeed, this conviction is essential to effective political leadership, its absence having crippled both Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull.
As even Will Hodgman’s staunchest opponents would concede, his government has been disciplined and systematic in implementing the policies it took to Tasmanian voters in 2014, and again last year.
A second, and more elusive, dimension of leadership is the ability to subtly shape the political agenda and steer conversations, to interpret community concerns and frame debates so that a broad cross-section of the community will support a political agenda.
As chief political correspondent of the ABC’s 7.30 program Laura Tingle argued in her recent Quarterly Essay, democratic leaders increasingly have relied on the politics of fear and division to secure power rather than this more subtle art of steering debate towards consensus and the middle ground.
With this in mind, perhaps the most significant element of the Premier’s State of State address was his reference to “strategic growth” and the ambition “to find innovative local solutions to increase inclusion and participation in our growing economy”, and to work with a wide range of stakeholders “to unlock the potential in our regional communities”.
These laudable ambitions nevertheless raise some questions; what is “strategic” or “inclusive” growth? Why does it matter and what are the key elements of strategic growth strategy in Tasmania?
The inclusive growth debate began in the early 2000s when it became clear that economic growth alone wasn’t resulting in broadbased social and economic development. It was argued that growing inequality may contribute to political instability and limit long-run economic growth.
These debates about economic inequality and the social consequences of a topheavy income distribution have only intensified in the years since the Global Financial Crisis.
Tasmania clearly hasn’t suffered from the austerity and inequality experienced in many other places. However, the agenda is of undeniable local relevance given evidence that many Tasmanians and some regions haven’t benefited from the strong economic growth of recent years.
The strategic growth agenda is not simply about expanding welfare support and social services (although this may be required). Rather, it’s about empowering communities and creating opportunities to ensure that all members of society can fully participate in, and share the benefits of, economic growth.
Another distinctive element of strategic growth is its regional focus. We know that some communities face greater hurdles when it comes to accessing work and contributing to economic activity.
For some communities and disadvantaged groups, there are deep social barriers to engagement. For others it may be transport, housing or access to services, work or training. Too often, complex combinations of these factors create divides among and between communities.
Tasmania has made real progress in increasing levels of educational participation and attainment in recent years.
A strategic growth framework should consolidate and build on this progress, with intensive social support ensuring that more Tasmanians can enter the education and training system. At the same time, that training must be carefully aligned with the future workforce needs of
A more elusive dimension of leadership is the ability to subtly shape the political agenda, to frame debates so a broad cross-section of the community will support a political agenda
Tasmania’s diverse regions.
In short, strategic growth is about working with communities to build capacity and remove barriers, allowing a greater number of Tasmanians to access education and ultimately meaningful work. On the demand side, it’s a strategy of constructing economic advantage in a globalised, service-orientated and skillsintensive economy.
Clearly this a broad and ambitious agenda, linking social, education and economic policy. It demands deep collaboration between the community, government, industry and the education and training system and its many parts.
The Government’s
commitment to engaging with diverse communities to promote participation and unlock their potential is an important first step towards a strategic growth framework.
Working to increase participation in education and work will also result in numerous downstream benefits, including lower demand for health and welfare services, and increased labour supply and long-run growth potential.
A carefully crafted strategic growth agenda is one which would benefit our entire community.
The political dividend here is that the agenda has the potential to transcend some of the key divisions between political parties, levels of government and regions, that have dominated Tasmania in recent years. Professor Richard Eccleston is the director of the Institute for the Study of Social Change at the University of Tasmania.