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Intergovernmental Relations and the Role of Senior Officials: Two Case Studies and Some Lessons Learned
Author(s) -
Davis Glyn,
Silver Helen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8500.12171
Subject(s) - public administration , federalism , political science , competition (biology) , public relations , law , politics , ecology , biology
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is the most important forum for intergovernmental relations in Australian federalism. Though decision‐making processes in intergovernmental relations in Australia have been well documented in recent research, the role of senior officials within the COAG process is less often studied. Though not the primary decision makers, this article suggests senior officials play a significant role in intergovernmental outcomes through advice provision and ‘bargaining in the margins’ of COAG. Case studies of the National Competition Policy and the development of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations suggest both the contribution of senior officials and the constraints on their contribution to intergovernmental decision making.