Turning Point

A stocktake of the performance of Australia's federal and state governments. This book provides a progress report on key national policy areas covering unemployment, infrastructure, financial regulation (the Wallis inquiry), manufacturing, the waterfront and shipping, health and the public sector. An examination of the New Zealand experiment points to similarities and differences with the Australian experience. The text also reports on the direction and performance of Australia's state and territory governments. It traces the contradictions in Bob Carr's New South Wales government and offers new and disturbing perspectives on Jeff Kennett's Victorian government. It asks if Rob Borbridge is attempting to roll Queensland back to the Bjelke Petersen era. It asks what public benefit will come from the Western Australia government's efforts to break the union movement. It looks at how South Australia and Tasmania can escape the prospect of permanent recession.