Regionalism - A Cure for Federal Ills?
When criticism is made of the operation of the federal system in Australia, the answer often proposed is 'regionalism'. Sometimes what is meant is the introduction of a fourth tier of regional governments, but more often what is proposed is the abolition of State and local governments and the creation instead of a two-tiered system of national and regional governments. A third alternative that has been raised is the creation of a number of new States so that each region becomes a State, as this may be constitutionally easier to achieve than the abolition of the existing states. This article examines these various proposals, assessing whether they are likely to achieve their purported aims and raising the many practical problems that would arise if they were to be implemented. It ends by noting the difficulty in assessing regionalism proposals due to their lack of clarity and detail and concludes that the case for regionalism as an alternative to federalism or as a means of reforming it has not yet been made out.
The Political Viability of Federal Reform: Interpreting Public Attitudes
Introduction Does ‘regionalism’ have a popular basis in Australian political culture? When mapping possibilities for the future of Australian federalism, what is the contemporary ‘realm of the possible’ in terms of political support for reform to address long term deficits in regional governance? These questions are fundamental to understanding where current tensions and trends are leading the federal system. As outlined in the preceding chapters, and shown by many that follow, Australian federalism is not static – in response to diverse pressures, it is shifting and facing new institutional developments. But which options are recognisable by the larger community, which have their support, and which are sustainable? When it comes to institutional strategies for making and delivering better public policy at a community level, which might have greater success or durability if they did resonate more strongly with citizen preferences? How much support exists for institutional restructuring, and where in our community is it based?
Arab Uprisings and the Outstanding Return to Democracy: Tunisia as a Model
In the wake of the Middle Eastern crises, the Tunisian case in focus has been doted as a unique phenomenon being that it was the Genesis of the revolution that ultimately spread across the Middle East like wild fire, but has eventually heralded a new dawn as democracy has incidentally returned to the Empire. This literature therefore looks closely at the extent to which the ‘DignityRevolution’ has been instrumental in the Middle East uprisings, which have brought an end to dynastic autocracies. The literature zeros in on the Tunisian uprising which has attracted global concerns, sympathy and has sparked interests in the international arena. The literature finds that the people hold colossal prospect in the uprising and its resultant effect, as it paved the way for the revolutionist to generate, gather and disseminate information on the condition of the entire region to the international community. The people in this context were of utmost importance and played a very crucial role in the creation of awareness, mobilization of protesters and utmost determining the direction of the uprising and also ensuring a speedy return to democratic rule. The paper submits that the role of the people in ensuring that the ruins of the uprising is not left littering around and democracy restored is highly commendable and should be a model for all other Arab countries involved in the revolution.