Conjectures about Public Opinion and the Australian Welfare State

Abstract

The recent development of the Australian welfare state is often characterised by writers on social policy as heavily influenced by a tax revolt, by welfare backlash, by a fiscal and legitimation crisis and by the privatisation of services. This paper argues that although writers on public opinion and the welfare state have pointed to significant changes both in politics and the economy, they have often misinterpreted the nature of support for the welfare state in Australia. Above all, in response to the challenge by the New Right, they have overstated the shift away from a commitment both by policy makers and by most of the public to collective provision for income maintenance, health and education. I would argue that the New Right, in so far as it can be identified as a major proponent of radical reform of the welfare state, has exercised a decisive influence on intellectual debates rather than on public attitudes and public policy. These intellectual debates tend to underestimate the significance of institutional and historical factors that continue to shape the development of the Australian welfare state.