A Local-State Government Spatial Data Sharing Partnership

Chapter 3 – Collaboration, Partnerships and the Government Environment
Partnership decision making is related to the particular partnership process and often needs
to be more responsive than existing government structures.
3.3.6 Section Summary
Partnerships are a particular form of collaboration that are usually formalised through a
partnership agreement. Within governments, partnership initiatives are flourishing both in
government to government relations and public-private partnerships. However, the
functioning of partnership operations within hierarchical bureaucratic structures does
provide a level of conflict with respect to efficiencies and sustainability.
3.4 The Government Environment
3.4.1 Introduction
Partnerships operate within, and are influenced by, government jurisdictional
environments. Australian state and local governments vary in their roles and
responsibilities from those of other countries which have a system of federated states.
Some important characteristics of these jurisdictional environments include their size,
legislative framework, fiscal arrangements and inter-governmental relations. These
historical relationships and jurisdictional responsibilities are particularly important in the
development of collaborative initiatives such as partnerships.
3.4.2 Federalism in the Australian Context
The constitutional framework and system of government within a country determine how
traditional government services such as health, education, transport, and social services are
delivered. A system of federated states, such as Australia, is a decentralised model of
government where the delivery of primary services is undertaken at the lower tiers of
government. In countries such as Australia, United States and Canada which encompass
large landmasses, the decentralisation of government has enabled the delivery of services
to be adapted to meet geographic, social and regional needs. Federal government involves
complicated constitutional arrangements that are intended to provide an overall national
structure to a group of regions which otherwise might have been separate national entities
(Solomon 1988).
At the heart of federalism is the issue of control. The federal government influences the
state’s roles and powers through both legislative and financial control. The distinguishing
features of the federal forms of government can be summarised as:
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