Governing at the gallop

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 20

Governing at the gallop

Submissions on the proposals by Professor Gary Hawke for the education system beyond the level of compulsory schooling must be made within a month. The Government, which wants to act on the report, is in a hurry to do so. The same attitude has been applied to the Picot report on schools. Haste is all. These two examples of the Government galloping along are by no means the only ones. On bill after bill, the legislative programme allows little time for public reflection and response. After proclaiming its adherence to open government and consultation, the Government constantly forgets its promises. Allowing the public a snapshot of its plans but barely time to develop the film, let. alone time to study the picture, is coming close to entering the dirty tricks department. When the matter to be considered is of such moment as the education system, and when a report has been many months in the making, the time limit set is short-changing the public which pays for the results, and suffers from the mistakes, or simply does not get what it wants. The habit has become so entrenched that the Government is probably thinking that a lack of reaction on some topics is evidence of consent. This is not necessarily so. Many people, already busy with their own jobs, v ' -‘4’

have to find time and energy to mobilise opinions, to get consensus within the framework of an industry, or association, or some representative group. This is very different from the machinery of the lawmakers who can concentrate the full-time efforts of their departments and advisers. Silence, or a lack of strong objection, is also becoming a sign of public apathy — not necessarily indifference, but the result of the numbing succession of major changes in economic policies and social policies, employment worries, and uncertainties about where the Government is heading on some major questions. The Government should stop galloping, put away its stun guns, and get its feet on the ground with its citizens. This is not to say that all the Government does is bad or mistaken because of its reforming crusade. The problem is that its haste is a signal of arrogance and indifference towards the electorate, intended or unintended. The time allowed for submissions on the Hawke report should be extended, probably by several months. This need not lead to lethargy; best of all it may prevent -the disasters that many well informed and experienced people are foretelling about implementing the Picot plan at speed.