The Queensland Commission of Audit Final Report: A Critical Review
The establishment of a Commission of Audit has been a routine measure for newly elected conservative governments since the election of the Kennett government in Victoria in 1992. Most notably, Peter Costello, Treasurer in the incoming Howard government, appointed a commission headed by Professor Robert Officer, a leading free-market economist. The primary stated task of these Commissions, as implied by the name, is to review the current and forecast condition of public finances and to make recommendations for improvement. In reality, however, the primary function has been to justify cuts in public expenditure and other policy changes. In most cases, these policy changes have not formed part of the platform on which the newly elected government campaigned and, in many cases, they represent a direct repudiation of election promises.
The Queensland commission of audit interim report - June 2012: A critical review
The interim report of the Queensland Commission of Audit (2012) has been presented as an independent assessment of the finances of the Queensland State Government. In reality, the appointment of an Audit Commission is a routine political manoeuvre undertaken by incoming governments seeking to abandon electoral commitments. The Commission has not discovered any 'black holes' or substantial mis-statements in the budget estimates of the outgoing Labor government. The Commission's focus on gross public sector debt is misplaced. The most relevant measure of the balance sheet as a whole, public sector net worth, remains strong. Queensland faces the problem of meeting growing demands for services such as health and education, while having access to only a limited range of revenue sources. As noted by the Commission Queensland has public expenditure levels similar to those of other states, but has lower tax effort, primarily because of generous concessions on land and payroll tax. The shortfall in tax revenue caused by these unjustified concessions is the primary reason for Queensland's budget difficulties. The Commission recognises the distortions and inefficiency associated with these concessions but proposes no concrete measures to address them.
The Internet and the Changing Beijing-Taipei Relations: Toward Unification or Fragmentation?
Information and its technologies facilitate the exercise of what has been called “soft power,” a concept that differentiates information from the conventional dimensions of “hard power,” which is mainly associated with military force and economic influence. Soft power, according to Nye, a former Assistant Secretary of Defense of the United States, means that “A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries want to follow it, admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness. In this sense it is just as important to set the agenda in world politics and attract others as it is to force them to change through the threat or use of military or economic weapons.”1