Public Consultation: Adding Value or Impeding Policy?

Abstract

f I Ihere is a growing expectation among interest groups of all kinds that they will be consulted at relevant stages of public policy development. It is now X an accepted fact of Australian political life that organisations will consult their stakeholders at crucial stages in their key decision-making processes. There has also been a trend towards the institutionalisation of such arrangements. This trend has not been peculiar to Australia. When governments consider new forms of regulation, delegated legislation or public rule making, sophisticated consultative arrangements have become a dominant feature of the process. In this respect Australia has followed overseas trends. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has noted that 'a strong trend towards renewal and expansion of public consultation in regulatory development' (OECD, 1995) is under way in its member countries. The OECD has expressed strong approval of this trend and has championed it with the adoption and wide publication of a set of six propositions extolling the benefits of public consultation: • Proposition 1 ('Quality Regulations') — through the provision of a wider range of information, public consultation can encourage the development of better quality legislation and regulations; • Proposition 2 ('Increased Options') — public consultation can contribute to the identification of more acceptable and viable policy options; • Proposition 3 ('Lower Costs') — public consultation can lower costs to business and administration; • Proposition 4 ('Concurrence and Compliance') — public consultation can promote concurrence and compliance with the resulting laws and regulations; • Proposition 5 ('Responsiveness to Change') — with a public consultation strategy in place, government agencies are better placed to respond to changing circumstances and to review laws and regulations accordingly; and • Proposition 6 ('Credibility and Legitimacy') — public consultation can improve the credibility and legitimacy of governmental action, win the support of the groups involved in the decision process and increase acceptance by those affected.