Abstract

Professor, Politician or Public Servant?
Jennifer Rayner
 

Geoff Gallop’s Politics, Society, Self is an oddly passionless book. This is surprising, given that the topics he covers—globalisation, religious fundamentalism, reform of Parliament, an Australian Republic, social inequality and political distrust—are ones that people often get hot under the collar about. Gallop spent more than 20 years in the thick of West Australian local and state politics, including five as Premier, yet in this collection of speeches and articles he has observed the state of Australia today as if from some distant remove. Perhaps this is due to his work as an academic studying governance and policy, which has bookended his political career. Or perhaps it is simply a product of his advancing age and the sense of perspective that comes with this. Either way, it makes for frustrating reading, as we are constantly waiting for Gallop to descend from his pedestal and tell us something real.

Unfortunately, that does not happen until the very final chapters. First, we get more than 300 pages of platitudes and obvious generalisations: people don’t trust politicians, Parliament needs to be made more responsive, a republic won’t happen without more consultation, combating political and religious fundamentalism requires dialogue and open mindedness. It is hard to argue with him on any of these points, but it is also hard to see what is new in his analysis, or how such observations help to drive any of these issues forward. It seems that his intention is to remind the current political elite that governing means more than growing the economy, and that long-term goals matter just as much as tomorrow’s Newspoll. But how likely are they to be listening when all he offers is things they’ve heard before? And in the absence of many specific proposals or fresh ideas, how are they to act on this reminder?

Gallop also has the academic’s habit of calling on high theory to lend weight to his political analysis, despite the fact that his political career must surely have provided a plentiful stock of illuminating anecdotes that would have served just as well. In the first 100 pages alone we hear from Keynes, Marcuse, Crick, Habermas, Weber, Paine and Giddens, amongst others. This only heightens the sense that Gallop is discussing events of some scholarly interest rather than real and urgent policy challenges. It also means that anyone lacking an Honours degree in political science may well be scared off reading past the early chapters, which would be a shame because the book’s most interesting sections are its last.

In particular, Gallop’s discussion of public administration and the challenges of responsive service delivery in a fast-moving age is both insightful and practical. He draws on his broad-ranging experience managing the West Australian public service to bring some definitional clarity to buzz words like ‘agile government’ and ‘co-operative federalism’, and highlights a range of state-based initiatives—including his own government’s Dialogue with the city planning process and Jim Bacon’s Tasmania Together project—which have created better public services. Further, he argues that creating more responsive and flexible government means recognising the diversity of roles that government agencies play, rather than treating ‘the public service’ as a monolithic whole—something which both governments and the public alike are guilty of doing. This is obviously the area of government that Gallop knows and cares most about, as he provides an in-depth discussion of the different tasks and benchmarks for public sector agencies with service and welfare delivery roles (education, health), compared with those which have monitoring and enforcement tasks (policing, tax) or general policy roles (treasury, human services). This distinction is an important one, as it reminds us that although the ultimate end for all agencies may be more responsive governance, achieving this will require case-by-case decisions about the ends for getting there rather than broad brush reforms of the New Public Management variety.

Gallop’s discussion of service delivery also segues neatly into the book’s most personal chapters, which address his experiences with mental illness. Gallop resigned from the West Australian Premiership in 2006 to seek treatment for depression and anxiety, and this has given him personal insight into the availability of social supports for those experiencing mental health issues. He argues that there is simply not enough being done to ensure that those with depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses get the help they need, and credits the ongoing stigma surrounding mental illness as the primary obstacle. The intensity of his own experiences shows through in the language of these chapters, as he writes of ‘individuals locked away within themselves...forever in or on the edge of panic’, of ‘the mind stalk[ing] its victim’, and of experiencing ‘excruciating isolation’. Gallop is one of several high-profile male politicians to have spoken out about his battles with depression in recent years, but he provides us with the most vivid insight yet into the devastating and debilitating impact of this illness. He also offers clear and straightforward policy solutions: more funding for youth and early intervention mental health services, better community education and awareness, an end to stigma and what he describes as the ‘pull yourself together’ approach favoured by many employers and public figures. As with Gallop’s earlier observations, there is nothing very new about these proposals, but at least we get the sense that there is real passion and commitment behind them.

Throughout Politics, Society, Self Gallop frequently returns to philosophical questions: why are we here? What is government for? How do we leave the world in a better state than we found it? More than any of these questions though, readers might find themselves pondering something more prosaic: who is this book supposed to be for? Politicians will find little in it that they haven’t heard before, while regular citizens will likely find it too high-falutin’ to connect with. Even public servants may see Gallop’s recommendations as more of an ideal vision than a specific blueprint for future service delivery. That just leaves academics, who may well share Gallop’s intellectual interest in the policy challenges explored in this book, but are ultimately even more detached from solving them than him.
 

Jennifer Rayner is a doctoral candidate at the Australian National University. 

Geoff Gallop, Politics, Society, Self: Occassional Writings, University of Western Australian Publishing, 2012.