Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Making public policy
In contemporary policy spaces, effective policy craft increasingly comes down to
working effectively within networks inside and outside government. Today’s policy
professional needs to be acutely aware that governments have many sources of policy
advice and that many of these sources have vested interests in particular outcomes.
Above all, a capacity for critical reflection and an ability to anticipate the risks and
consequences of policy choices provide the foundation of sound policy practice.
It is our hope that the concepts canvassed in this chapter will assist readers to
make sense of scholarly and media accounts of policy histories and policy making
indifferentdomainsandofthechangingrole,formandmodusoperandiofthe
public sector.
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