There is much talk about the failure of our current consensus form of government. A change to a more executive form of government described as cabinet government has been suggested but little information provided on what that actually means.
The problem appears to be that the main States committees have no coordinated policy agreement and are all independently competing for their own policies, resources and cash.
The States Assembly appoints the chief minister but give him/her no authority. This will have to change. The chief minister needs the statutory authority to appoint and dismiss the presidents of the main committees who will become the chief minister’s cabinet. The cabinet will agree policy and propose legislation but will still need the support of independent deputies to gain a majority vote in the Assembly. This will provide for effective debate and scrutiny.
Some such arrangement could be put in place during the next session. However, prior to the following elections the candidate deputies, who wish to be chief minister, will need to lay out their policies in detail and name their potential cabinet to gain voter support.
Cabinet government should lead to much better decision making, improved essential coordinated long-term policy and genuine chief minister accountability.
Peter Bachmann
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