Multiple agents,blame games and public policy-making: the case of local government reform in New South Wales

Politicians often use ‘independent experts’ to avoid blame for contentious public policy. The use of multiple agents, however, has attracted relatively little attention. We extend the blame-avoidance literature to identify additional opportunities and risks that arise when multiple agents are used to support/oppose particular public policies. We then test our propositions using evidence from recent local government reforms in New South Wales. The picture which emerges is largely one of confusion whereby independent agents provide contradictory opinions, attempt to shift blame to one another, and dispute interpretations of earlier advice. We conclude our analysis with a discussion of the salient factors for successful pursuit of the multiple-agent variant of the blame games.     

The ‘drive and talk’ as ethnographic method

Anthropologists have long embraced the value of the ‘walk and talk’ ethnographic method, which is an interactive means of generating research insights in situ – on site. In this article, we propose that there is room for an expanded appreciation of the ‘drive and talk’ method. While driving and talking with their interlocutors, researchers can elicit information prompted by features in the landscape and the environment that might be otherwise forgotten or overlooked if the interview context was set in a fixed location. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, this article explains the empirical and phenomenological (sensorial and experiential) insights yielded by driving and talking with interlocutors in a South Australian wine-growing region. Automobility has the advantage over ambulation when it comes to accessing landscapes at the scale of the farm, which is where environmental management decisions are on heightened display.     

Reviews

Australian. Robert Manne, The Petrov Affair: Politics and Espionage, Sydney, Pergamon, 1987, pp.310. $28.50 (cloth), $19.00 (paper).

P. Loveday and D. Wade‐Marshall (eds), Economy and People in the North, Australian National University & North Australia Research Unit, Darwin, 1985, pp. 294. $18.00 (paper).

Barry M. Coldrey, Critical Issues in Peace Studies, Melbourne, Edward Arnold, 1987, pp. 151. $15.95 (paper).

G. Zdenkqwski, C. Ronalds and M. Richardson, The Criminal Injustice System, Volume 2, Pluto Press, Sydney and London, 1987, pp.325. $19.95 (paper).

Drew Hutton (ed.), Green Politics in Australia, Sydney, Angus & Robertson, 1987, pp. 245. $14.95 (paper).

Philip Ayres, Malcolm Fraser: A Biography, Melbourne, Heinemann, 1987, pp. 518. $39.95 (cloth).

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Comparative and International. Gavan McCormack & Yoshi Sugimoto (eds), Democracy in Contemporary Japan, Sydney, Hale & Iremonger, New York, M.E. Sharpe Inc.; 1986, pp.272, $14.95 (paper).

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Frederic Spotts and Theodor Wieser, Italy: A Difficult Democracy, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1986, pp.329. $32.00 (paper).

Ferenc Feher and Agnes Heller, Doomsday or Deterrence? On the Antinuclear Issue, New York, Sharpe, 1986, pp.153. U.S.$12.95 (paper).

Rasul B. Rais, The Indian Ocean and the Superpowers, London, Croom Helm, 1986, pp. 215. £25.00 (cloth).

Neil Harding (ed.), The State in Socialist Society, Oxford/London, St Antony's/Macmillan, 1984, pp.316. $18.95 (paper).

Peter Raina (ed.), Poland 1981: Towards Social Renewal, London, Allen & Unwin, 1985, pp. 472. $55.00 (cloth).

Rasma Karklins, Ethnic Relations in the USSR: The Perspective from Below, Boston, Allen & Unwin, 1986, pp. 256. $54.00 (cloth).

A.E. Holmans, Housing Policy in Britain, London, Croom Helm, 1987, pp. 489. £29.95 (cloth).

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Political Theory and Methodology. Andrew Cox. Paul Furlong and Edward Page, Power in Capitalist Society: Theory, Explanations and Cases, Brighton UK, Wheatsheaf Books, 1985, pp. 235. $29.95 (paper).

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Women. Judith Evans et al., Feminism and Political Theory, London, Sage, 1986, pp.155. £5.95 (paper).

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