Poverty – A Precarious Public Policy Idea Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership Poverty and the Public Policy Agenda Dr David Adams Executive Director, Strategic Policy and Research Division Visiting Fellow, Australian National University 13 August 2004

Features of powerful ideas Easy to understand Resonate with people’s experiences of the world Make normative ‘ought’ claims on resources Few or weak ideas to compete with Fit the department and program format ‘Solve’ immediate and significant problems Policy network to nurture them

Poverty eradication – what went wrong? Poverty line replaced by a gini co-efficient Out of sight out of mind “I’m OK” and it’s a crowded agenda… In need but no longer deserving Plethora of new ideas on the left and right So which government and department is responsible? It didn’t work – ‘wrong theory’, ‘wrong policy’, ‘no money’ Where are the leaders? Too many rights, not enough shared responsibilities

Does policy happen like this (rational, linear, purposive) (incrementalism) (historical) (paradigm shift) (chaos theory) The Tricky Theory - Questions

What works? Importance of assets and micro financing Importance of land use planning Importance of community capital Endowment Knowledge Capability Governance Long term change strategy Vision that is not a pie in the sky

What doesn’t work? More pilots than Qantas More visions than Mother Teresa 1,844 outputs = strategy Planning fetish Programs ‘causing’ anything Thinking departments can dance

What to do? Organise and or direct action ‘Iconic’ symbols and words – principles / actions Some basic ‘data’ that matters New governance arrangements Area based plan – just one Pooled resources Governments Markets Communities Intergenerational outlook Local team approach Understand ‘new’ time and space