Privatisation and new public management: Asset sales and Commissions of Audit in Queensland, 1990–2013

Abstract

Governments since the 1980s have reshaped the public sector by selling public businesses and other assets, and by introducing competition in the supply of taxpayer-funded services. Explanations for these new directions have focused on political ideologies about the proper role of government, and economic arguments about business efficiency, while noting an international trend towards diffusion of these policy ideas. However, the methods for achieving significant policy shifts have often been overlooked. This study examines the case of Queensland, highlighting a wider range of reform factors, including bureaucratic advice and commission of audit recommendations.1980年代以来各国政府通过出售公共产业和其他资产，通过在纳税人出资的服务业引入竞争而改造了公共部门。对这类新方向的解释都集中在政府职能以及企业效率的政治意识形态一面，以及造成这类政策思想扩散的国际潮流。不过，他们都忽视了造成如此重大政策转变的方法。本文考察了昆士兰的案例，讨论了更广泛的改革因素，包括官僚咨询以及审计委员建议等等。