Reports that Treasurer Joe Hockey has refused to back down on plans to strip $4 billion from school and hospital funding in the May budget will do little to repair relations between the States and the Commonwealth, writes Andrew Lynch.
There is now a large disparity between the responsibilities of the Commonwealth and the states and their relative capacities to fund those responsibilities, writes Shipra Chordia.
Party solidarity counts for little in the federalism sphere, and Tony Abbott's white paper may not go far enough in changing the settings and entrenched behaviours in Commonwealth-state relations, writes Andrew Lynch.
Arrangements that reflect the Commonwealth’s effective control of the tertiary sector make a lot of sense, but there is the risk of a one size fits all standardisation if the Commonwealth runs the show, writes Andrew Lynch.
By backtracking on Gonski, the Coalition is undermining the trust inherent in intergovernmental agreements, with serious ramifications for planning in our most critical policy areas, argues Shipra Chordia.
There is a clear need for federal reform. The starting point must be recognition of how much Australia has to gain from a system that fosters competition and diversity, rather than mere national control, writes George Williams.
