Common Cause: Strengthening Australia’s cooperative federalism

Abstract

At the 20 December 2007 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, all Australian governments committed to an ambitious and wide-ranging national reform agenda. One of the most important decisions at the December 2007 COAG meeting was the agreement to reform Commonwealth-State funding arrangements.

Productive intergovernmental cooperation is central to improved national policy performance. Accordingly, the options for reform outlined in this paper are directed at enhancing the functioning of the federation with a view to improving outcomes for all Australians. These options provide a broad platform for taking further action to improve the operations and effectiveness of the Australian Federation.

Suggested citation

Wanna, J., Phillimore, J., Fenna, A. and Harwood, J. (2009). Common Cause: Strengthening Australia’s cooperative federalism. Council for the Australian Federation, Canberra, May.