[Wombat]

Thorn Bird, like many others, I have thought long and hard about this. There are a number of factors involved:

1. The Australian Federal System - in which some, but not all, power is concentrated in Canberra that has at least three effects:

a) Geographic detachment of decision makers from first hand information - stimulus and response is delayed. The bungled Covid vaccine rollout and RAT debacles are classic cases. Not only does this apply at the personal level but as an administrative necessity Canberra requires "Official" information about what is happening. TV news about RAT demand will not suffice. Canberra needs "official", quality controlled information which must come from its own Sydney or Melbourne offices or State Governments - adding at least a week to response times.

b) "Customer focused" in Canberra means the Minister - she is the Customer. You and I are abstract entities.

c) "Group think". Canberra is a company town. The place is full of third or fourth generation public servants with no real experience of Australia. Add to that the domination of ANU intellectually and we get bizarre policies - like "Australia can't manufacture anything because of a lack of economies of scale."

2. The current Western predominance of the professional and managerial classes. This has been enhanced by rapid technological change since WWII, especially in IT. It's effects? The devaluing of first hand experience as a requirement for managing and its replacement by a belief in 'scientific" management as exemplified by the MBA phenomenon. Thus we get managers with no idea of what they are managing. To be fair, the reverse of this: the belief that you require thirty years experience is just as bad because it creates fossilized institutions.


I could go on............