An aspirational government and the state of the federation

The state of the union. I say state of the union but really what is needed is the state of the federation. At a time when the US is facing the most important, yet partisan, election in history it is a hard sell to want to import their ideas. But there is one. The state of the union.

In Australia, what is the most important speech given every year by a sitting government? It is treated with great reverence, media and stakeholders are locked up for advanced viewing, and t.v networks cover and analysis it for all to see. It is the most important speech of the year and it is made not by the Prime Minister but by the Treasurer. It is the Federal Budget.

The Federal Budget sets the agenda for the year in Australia in the same way the state of the union sets the agenda in the US. So why should we have a state of the federation when we have a budget statement? It comes down to attitude and the mutual obligation of government.

The state of the union, given by the President, highlights the agenda for the year. It is done so with some consideration of finance but that is not the primary concern, after all congress holds the purse strings. It is, at its core, an appeal to the representatives of the people, to fund the agenda of the President. The President can, and does, include a social, legislative and foreign policy agenda as much as it does an economic one.

The Budget speech, is, at its core, an economic one. Presented in a format much like a companies audited accounts at an annual general meeting. This narrow focus leaves little opportunity for the consideration of social, foreign and legislative priorities. Any sense of an agenda can only be gleaned from the breadcrumbs hidden in complex budget tables.

Our neighbour New Zealand has come close. In 2019, it announced a well-being budget. A budget focused more on the well-being of its citizens than it is on its financial or economic agenda. After all, as economist Mariana Mazzucato put it “there is no point to the economy unless it helps people to lead better lives”. We have all seen the success of the New Zealand government, after all they have just achieved the first majority government in almost 30 years. But, it was still a budget delivered by the Finance Minister, Grant Robertson.

This is how it ties to attitudes. In the US, with a state of the union, elections and governments are decided more on social policy than economic. In New Zealand we have seen an election decided on compassion and kindness after a well-being budget. In Australia, our last election was decided on tax, negative gearing, and franking credits. When a government focuses purely on the economy, they set the focus of elections and our attitude towards government as an economic one.

That is not all a government is there for.

Do we want a government like the US? A country deeply divided on political lines based on social issues. Of course not. The management of our economy is, of course important. But the Australian Government should aspire for more. We should aim for an aspirational government.

It is true that the budget makes promises possible. But, now that we have put to bed the false obsession with a budget surplus, should it drive the national agenda? Should we look to the Australian Government to set a financial and economic agenda or should we expect them to aspire to more.

If you still think that the primary focus of a government is managing the economy, just take a moment to look back and think about a recent issue that galvanized the younger voters in Australia. It was not an economic issue, it was not about a budget deficit that the young would have to pay back.

It was same-sex marriage. A purely social issue with no budget implications (if you ignore the cost of a plebiscite or organising a wedding).

Just imagine, if, at the start of the year, the Prime Minister addressed the Australian people and said “This is my vision for the federation, we can all aspire to do better ”