This issue:

- seven strategies for wicked problems 
- resetting the budget 
- a crypto primer 
- close the gap by transforming power 
- precarious housing and wellbeing 

Plus what I’m reading. 

A new e-book about wicked problems examines how they are identified, understood and managed by policy practitioners.  One of the chapters discusses the strategies used by leaders of democratic governments to respond to contested, and often politicised, issues. Leaders can avoid or downplay the tough issues, or they can redefine the issues to align with their existing agendas. In considering the available strategic choices, government leaders will bring to the table their own leadership style and tactical preferences. 

Read our brief on the article

This CEDA paper outlines the case for a comprehensive budget reset after the Federal election and ahead of the 2023-24 Federal Budget.  

Past budget approaches are no longer fit for purpose 
The paper argues that arbitrary targets and narrow focus on budget surpluses that have underpinned Australia’s recent budget approach do not guarantee budget sustainability. They will carry significant economic costs in a supply-constrained economy. 

Budget caps and other attempts at expenditure restraint have also not been sufficient to address the underlying funding and demand challenges across programs growing at a quicker pace than the economy – health, aged care and the NDIS. 

How to reset the budget’s foundations 
The paper notes that, after the election, whoever forms government must move quickly to review and reset the foundations of fiscal policy in Australia, ready for the 2023-24 Budget. This review requires four actions to reset the frameworks and improve the quality of information on which budgets are set 

1. Parliament should request the Parliamentary Budget Office to undertake a whole of federation Intergenerational Report 
Over time the quality of Intergenerational Reports has diminished. There is an opportunity to improve and broaden them to deliver a more robust assessment of the intergenerational equity and budget sustainability. 

2. Review and refresh the Charter of Budget Honesty Act 
The Act is now almost 25 years old and in need of modernisation to lift the quality, public transparency and scrutiny of federal finances.  

3. Review and update the medium-term fiscal strategy 
The priority in the next decade is to stabilise and reduce net debt while also facilitating the right investments to boost the productive capacity of the economy. 

4. Establish a rolling schedule of program evaluations 
This would establish a pipeline of ideas from the 2023-24 budget onwards to lift the efficiency and effectiveness of spending over time and reduce the need for blunt savings targets. 

A policy brief from the Bennett Institute of Public Policy outlines the concepts of cryptocurrencies, web3, NFTs, and the metaverse. It also highlights the policy questions these new technologies raise. 

What are cryptocurrencies? 
Existing cryptocurrencies do not fit most accepted definitions of currency or money. Cryptocurrencies are more accurately categorised as financial assets or securities. They can be used for illegal transactions and circumventing foreign exchange. The main non-criminal rationale for purchasing cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin is to speculate on short-term movements in its price, or to buy-and-hold in the expectation of long-term appreciation. 

What is web3 
The term web3 refers to the next generation of the web’s technical, legal, and payments infrastructure. This includes blockchain, smart contracts and cryptocurrencies. The peer-to-peer nature of web3 means it represents a more equitable vision for the web than its current iteration, Web 2.0. This is dominated by powerful intermediary platforms such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google. 

What are NFTs? 
NFTs have played a key role in building mainstream consumer awareness of web3. NFTs of digital artworks and parcels of virtual land have sold for millions of dollars, both through traditional auction houses and on web3 marketplaces. 

Policy implications 
Policy issues raised by these technologies include: 
- addressing financial crime risks such as money laundering 
- how best to exploit the web3 opportunities for innovation 
- the impact on climate with Bitcoin now consuming more energy than Sweden 
- consumer protection as the accessibility of trading apps and cryptocurrency exchanges mean the entry barriers for consumers to invest are very low. 

This Lowitja Institute report highlights how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are leading the way in transforming health and community services, policies and programs, with foundations of culture and Country at the centre This is despite unprecedented health challenges from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

The report focuses on themes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led transformation, gender justice and equity, and allyship. It uses a strengths-based framework to demonstrate how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing present culturally safe, place-based, and appropriate solutions. 

The need for a paradigm shift 
There have been several notable developments in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy over the last 12 months, including: 
- the roll-out of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap
- the release of a new 10-year National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan. 

However, a paradigm shift in health and wellbeing policy and planning is needed. It is critical that policies and programs are developed and delivered in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This will ensure the specific needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities are identified and addressed. 

Case studies 
The report features nine case studies that demonstrate the essential role of Aboriginal and Torres Islander-led decision-making and self-determination, Each is an exemplar what can be achieved for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing through innovative, culturally safe, community-driven solutions. 

The case studies include: 
- transforming mental health systems through empowering Traditional Healers 
- the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group 
- ‘Shake the bush’ and working together on climate, housing and energy justice. 

A report from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute examines how the relationship between housing precariousness and wellbeing varies across population subgroups. It also considers policy interventions to minimise the negative impacts of precarious housing on wellbeing. 

What is precarious housing? 
Precarious housing includes: 
- household-based conditions such as forced moves and living in unaffordable housing or overcrowded housing 
- area-based precarious housing conditions such as living in an area of relative socio-economic disadvantage or in a higher crime area. 

At a glance 
- The wellbeing of singles, households with no children, low-income households, private renters and major city residents worsens when they are precariously housed. 
- The gap in wellbeing between precariously housed and non-precariously housed people has widened over time. 
- Forced moves, unaffordability and neighbourhood hostility affect a greater range of wellbeing dimensions than other forms of housing precariousness. 
- Young people are more likely to fall into or remain in precarious housing than older people. 
- Physical violence precipitates entry into precarious housing, and lengthens time spent in it. 
- Policy reform to increase tenure security in the private rental sector would increase the wellbeing of tenants.  
- There is significant scope to reform existing housing-assistance programs to improving the wellbeing of the precariously housed through better targeting and integration of housing and non-housing measures 

‘Til the next issue

Maria Katsonis

Maria curates The Bridge. She is a Public Policy Fellow at the University of Melbourne and a former senior Victorian public servant with 20 years’ experience. She has a deep understanding of public policy and public management and brings a practitioner’s perspective to the academic.