It is time to move forward in recognising that our institutions of government can and should be better organised to give all regions a fair go. In particular, it is time to escape the ‘city-country’ divide that currently holds us back. The public attitude survey of NSW residents, supported by the NSW Farmers’ Association (Gray and Brown, this volume) provides a new reason for this, because it suggests city people are actually no happier about the current system, and just as interested as country people in long-term change. Urban regions have their own unique problems which are apparently being no better served by the current federal system, particularly by state governments, than rural ones.

There are other things in common. In November 2002, the NSW Farmers’ Association undertook a Parliamentary Audit of laws and regulations, which revealed that farmers are being regulated out of business by a mountain of bureaucratic red tape. Farmers’ in NSW must comply with at least 56 different agricultural and environmental laws and regulations that have been introduced over the years. In 2003, of the 1,800 Commonwealth Acts of Parliament in place, 170 had been passed in the previous year. In four years from 2000 to 2003, the Commonwealth Parliament passed the same amount of legislation as it passed in the 69 years to 1969 at an administrative cost to Australian taxpayers of $4.5 billion in 2001-2002 alone. Similarly, in 2005, there were 1,300 NSW Acts of Parliament in place, 115 of which had been passed in the previous year. During 2000-2003, the NSW Parliament passed 300 pages of Acts, Rules, regulations and by-laws each sitting week.

The OECD estimates that the compliance cost of regulation for small and medium-sized Australian businesses in 1998 was more than $17 billion. Urban and rural businesses alike have an interest in reducing this burden of red tape, and the overall cost of government, if the path to a more efficient federal system can be found.

Given these facts, it is fast looking like there is every political reason for governments to look at long-term reform of the federal system, and few reasons left for them not to. Reforming basic institutions may not solve all the problems outlined in this chapter, at least not overnight, but we have to seriously consider the options. It was for this reason that the NSW Farmers’ Association took a lead in research and debate about options for a better system of government, through a taskforce established in 2004. Together with Griffith University and allied research bodies, we are now supporting the development of a new framework for evaluating trends and possibilities for our system of government. Key elements of that framework are set out in an Association discussion paper (see Appendix this volume).

While the NSW Farmers’ Association Taskforce has particular options it favours for reform, we recognise that a range of options need to be discussed. The common element of these options is a recognition that our federal system needs to provide regional communities – rural and urban – with greater capacity for developing and sticking with their own solutions to their own problems, by allowing stronger forms of government to evolve at the regional level. Local government is trying, but can’t do it alone. State governments have had the chance, and both can’t and won’t. The federal government is a growing force in the lives of rural regions, and increasingly provides the national standards that determine how business runs and how the environment is managed, but it is too remote from local communities to run all their affairs.

An agreed model for evaluating options for new states or regional governments in Australia is vital. A problem of past debates has obviously been disagreement over the criteria that should be used to assess the potential benefits of reform, leaving uncertainty about its likely overall effects, and helping preserve a status quo widely regarded as less than optimum. There is a clear need for further research to assess the potential benefits, costs, and options for reform. It is for this reason the Association has given funding to help trigger more detailed analysis of the costs, benefits and economic feasibility of reform options in the area of federal restructuring.

The Association has also discussed a new alliance of interest groups to take this issue forward. We need a collaborative effort, including a broad range of Australian business, community and non-government organisations in a larger debate about how structural reform of the federal system might better serve the people of Australia – urban and rural alike. There is great need for more informed debate about the evolution of our institutions, which is above party politics. There is currently a big gap in this debate, after the conclusion of the Constitutional Centenary Foundation (1991-2000), and the winding-up of think-tanks like the ANU Federalism Research Centre. Many organisations are interested in this debate, as shown by the Business Council of Australia’s Aspire Australia 2025 report (2004) and recent Reshaping Australia’s Federation action plan (2006). Business and non-government groups need to work together to improve our fundamental structures of democracy and governance.

New ideas and new solutions need to be put before Australia’s people and governments. We need new methods for analysing the potential for structural reform that can better equip the nation for present times and future challenges. There is a clear case for structural reform of the Australian federal system to deliver:

As set out in the discussion paper, reform should be aimed at providing a more efficient, durable apportionment of policy responsibilities between national and regional levels of governance; enhancing the governance capacities of urban and rural communities at the local and regional levels; increasing the responsiveness of state or regional government to the pressing needs of Australia’s regions; streamlining and reducing the net cost of government where possible; and providing an enhanced environment for sustainable economic innovation.

We are desperately in need of leaders who can see past the next election, with a vision similar to Sir Henry Parkes. As is always the case with politics, if necessary, the community needs to demand such vision from its political leaders, and researchers and advisors need to provide the new and better information they will then require. We are indeed fortunate to live in this great nation. We need to embark on this important journey to reform our governance system to make it even greater. Our collective vision will be required to commence this process. It has been over 100 years since Henry Parkes gave us his. It’s time for action. Australia needs it.