Not fit for purpose, but no consensus on change
FOUR ministers were asked whether the States was fit for the 21st century.
FOUR ministers were asked whether the States was fit for the 21st century.
All four suggested it was not – but came at it from evidently different perspectives. Chief Minister Lyndon Trott, Treasury minister Charles Parkinson, Commerce and Employment minister Carla McNulty Bauer and Housing minister Dave Jones were panel members at the Chamber of Commerce and Young Business Group business trends survey seminar.
The survey showed that 44% of respondents believed future economic success relied on a change from consensus to executive-style government. Fewer than 20% disagreed or strongly disagreed and the rest were on the fence.
Deputy Trott is known as a keen reformer – one who does not believe the island's government was designed for the 21st century.
'Are we gradually evolving to something significantly more suitable than what we've got now? Yes we are, but the pace for me is far too slow,' he said.
As chief minister, he said, he had a 60-hour-a-week job.
'With it comes very little authority and much expectation,' said Deputy Trott.
'Is it sustainable? I don't think it is. It's an extraordinarily complex job, extremely time onerous, yet it has to be performed with both hands tied behind one's back. That makes it a very unattractive proposition.'
Deputy Parkinson said Guernsey's model of government did not deal well with big decisions, maybe with one eye on the waste debate.
'We don't have the discipline to make a decision and implement it, certainly when it's controversial,' he said.
One way of overcoming this would be to embrace a party political system, he said, although he was not necessarily supportive.
'But if you wanted to deliver a programme of government, it might be the best way of doing it.'
Education minister Carol Steere spoke in these pages two weeks ago about the need for more secretarial support for backbenchers – a theme Deputy Parkinson also picked up on.
'At the moment backbenchers operate in more or less a vacuum because they haven't got staff support,' said Deputy Parkinson.
All they have, in the darkest depths of Frossard House, is a room with a few computers, sofas and tables – and their taxpayer-provided laptops.
Deputy Parkinson said a party could provide that staff support function. 'The entire model of the States does need to be looked at again,' he said.
Arguably, the remuneration policy creates the worst of all worlds, he said.
'It is attractive to people who have few other career options, but not enough to attract people of real talent.'
One option is to take a step back and stop paying, leaving it as a job for 'business grandees' that can afford to do it, but at considerable cost to democracy.
Or you pay a 'living wage' to attract more talent, he said.
'I know the model is pretty ropey at the moment.'
Deputy McNulty Bauer said government was evolving.'I think the next evolution should look at the number of departments, number of deputies and some of the procedures – the way we do things,' she said.
But she added the caveat that people from other jurisdictions admired Guernsey's system of government.
Deputy Jones believed that the States could react to important decisions, giving the recent example of zero-10 and the need to purchase the two fuel ships.
He added that party politics was inherently dishonest.
'It forces people to vote in ways they wouldn't do as individuals,' said Deputy Jones, who is very much in the pro-consensus boat.
He thought government needed to evolve into a system that suited Guernsey.
'I'm not against the Treasury minister having slightly more power to keep inherent spenders in line – he is the Treasury minister. He should have slightly more power in his arsenal.'
He even said the chief minister 'maybe' should have more executive power – but warned what that could mean it being vested in the wrong person.
