Reorienting a Nation: Consultants and Australian Public Policy

First published in 1998, Reorienting a Nation: Consultants and Australian Public Policy examines how, in the 1980s, Australian governments experienced dramatic change in the policy-making environment. The use of consultants by successive Hawke Labour governments in the mid-to-late 1980s to facilitate reviews of public policy was a strategy important to dealing with the complexity of these issues.

This book shows how the use of policy consultants complements traditional policy-making processes and the management of public policy change by government. In the 1980s, Australian governments faced dramatic and often unprecedented change in their policy-making environment. Moves towards market-oriented, 'small' government in a context of worldwide economic liberalisation created new and challenging issues for national governments.

The use of consultants by successive Hawke Labour governments was crucial in facilitating reviews of public policy during this time. Drawing insights from a range of public policy literatures, the research investigates the hypothesis that using consultants to review important policy areas could be an effective strategy for devising significant new directions in times of economic turbulence.

The book suggests that in such situations, the use of policy consultants effectively complements traditional policy-making processes and aids in managing public policy change by the government.