The National Competition Policy: A Study of the Policy Process and Network

Abstract

In his recent work on the Australian political system, Ian Marsh argues that interest groups and issues movements should be treated as 'potential partners and collaborators with government' (1995, p. 1). He suggests that the traditional two-party system with its inherent reliance on adversarial relations may need to mutate to cope with the demands which stakeholders are placing on the policy process and a changing political culture. This paper examines evidence that collaborative and cooperative modes of interaction are developing in Australia as a feature in the strategies used by both government and non-government players.