Public Policy: Saying One Thing, Doing Another
victoria-university-of-wellington
Tue Aug 25 2009 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Public Policy: Saying One Thing, Doing Another
Tuesday, 25 August 2009, 10:19 am
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington
Public Policy: Saying One Thing While Doing Another
Bob Gregory thinks its time to remove the mask on public policy and reveal what is really going on.
Professor Bob Gregory, from Victoria University’s School of Government, will discuss the nature of the political, rather than technical, rationality that lies at the heart of most public policymaking in his inaugural professorial lecture at Rutherford House next Tuesday.
“There is a strong tendency in liberal democracies to fudge the realities of political power and disguise them behind technocratic approaches to policymaking which appear to be politically neutral.”
He says this technocratic approach—the idea that all public policy problems have solutions which can be provided by theoretical knowledge—is largely an illusion.
“Public policymaking is essentially a political process and outcomes are a product of political interaction, bargaining and negotiating, which in itself is a function of political power.
“There’s a tendency to disguise that, to believe we can always generate good public policy through the application of theoretical knowledge. But politics is not for ‘curing’. It never goes away, even when governments profess to be sticking to policies that have the blessing of theoretical experts.
“In my view, the study and teaching of public policymaking is enlivened and made more relevant by a full and open recognition of its political dimensions.”
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh says Professor Gregory is an outstanding researcher and teacher in the area of New Zealand politics.
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“Professor Gregory has been at the forefront of analysing New Zealand politics since he joined Victoria as a lecturer in Public Administration in 1974. His insights into public policymaking over the last four decades of tumultuous change in New Zealand have contributed immensely to our understanding of society and politics.”
Professor Walsh says Victoria’s Inaugural Lecture series is an opportunity for new professors to provide family, friends, colleagues and the wider community with an insight to their specialist area of study.
“It is also an opportunity for the University to celebrate and acknowledge our valued professors.”
The public lecture is at 6pm in Lecture Theatre 1, Rutherford House, Bunny Street, Wellington on Tuesday 1 September. To RSVP, email rsvp@vuw.ac.nz with ‘Gregory’ in the subject line.
ENDS
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