Chapter 5: The Values and relations with the Public
Public consultation and communication
The importance of effective public consultation and communication has been a key theme in public sector reform, starting with a focus on increased community participation in the 1976 Royal Commission into Australian Government Administration (the Coombs Report). To be effective, public sector communication needs to go beyond the simple provision of government information, to receive useful feedback on government programs and services, and encourage sensible changes to those programs and policies where warranted.
An increasing priority has been placed on greater involvement of the public in government administration in recent times. This has reflected increased expectations among a better informed and connected public, as well as improvements in technology which are facilitating more effective engagement. Enhancing citizen engagement with government is a key focus of the Government’s framework for e-government discussed above.
Increased expectations are not limited to consultation about program management or the delivery of services, but also go to consultation about policy decisions themselves. People are now more attuned to government policy making and more interested in contributing to such processes. In this environment the APS needs to develop systems and processes to understand the different values and perspectives of stakeholders and clients.
The process of consultation on particular policy matters needs to be agreed by Ministers, and the appropriate process is likely to vary according to the agency, its stakeholders and the policy in question. However, for consultative processes to be effective, agencies need to maintain close networks with stakeholders and have expertise in communication.
The emphasis that the APS places on these skills is reflected in the Senior Executive Leadership Capability (SELC) Framework, which identifies the five core criteria for high performance by senior executives in the APS.30 The Framework emphasises both the need to nurture external relationships and facilitate cooperation and partnerships in the context of cultivating productive working relationships, and the need to communicate clearly, listen and understand in the context of communicating with influence.
The ATO launched its Listening to the Community initiative in March 2002. The initiative was designed to draw on the experience of a broad range of business and individual taxpayers, tax practitioners and other entities (e.g. charities) to identify possible administrative solutions to ensure a more client-friendly tax system. More than 60 workshops were held, involving significant community participation. The feedback from the community was that they expect the ATO to develop new delivery approaches, including using electronic channels. A very clear preference was for 'quick, accessible and accurate advice that the ATO stands by'. The ATO has developed a detailed range of initiatives developed from ideas obtained through these workshops. The initiatives are currently undergoing an intensive validation phase.
In addition to Listening to the Community the ATO provides a range of consultative and design products and techniques to develop a collaborative approach with the community. These include client experience rooms and walkthroughs, to illustrate the client experience for a package of changes, product development workshops and retreats, simulations and usability testing.
The issues of public consultation and communication were not addressed directly in the agency and employee survey, except in the context of service delivery feedback mechanisms. However, with their Minister’s agreement, agencies could benefit from taking a broader approach to consultation, by identifying areas where greater consultation and communication would be appropriate, and developing effective processes to ensure that consultation and communication occurs. There may be, for example, areas where agencies could contribute more to informed public debate or be more proactive in community consultation.
An example of a proactive approach to community consultation was the launch of the Government’s green paper on fundamental land transport infrastructure reform, AusLink: Towards the National Land Transport Plan in November 2002. The paper set out the direction of the Government’s thinking in relation to Australia’s land transport infrastructure, and put forward a series of questions that would need to be considered as the Government finalises the plan. The green paper was open for comment until February 2003 and was supported by a series of consultation meetings in metropolitan and regional Australia. Some 550 submissions were received from State and local governments, industry, environment groups, tertiary education and research groups, bicycle groups and interested members of the public. All submissions have been posted on the DOTARS website.
30 The SELC Framework is discussed in more detail in Chapter 9.