Book Review of 'Social Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand', by Christine Cheyne, Mike O'Brien and Michael Belgrave, Oxford University Press, Auckland 1997

Reviewed by Robin Johnson

Public Sector, Vol 20, No. 3, p 26., September 1997.

This book covers the development of social policy in New Zealand, recent changes in social policy and the. theory that instructs it, and the role of policy analysis in social policy. Case studies are drawn from the areas of Maori social policy, income support, services for children and families, and health policy. The book is written as an introductory university text on social policy though the authors clearly have aimed it at a wider audience. The authors are lecturers at Massey University.

The intoductory chapter starts with a discussion of the problems of defining social policy and draws comparisons with the older name of social administration. It goes on to outline the major theoretical traditions that have been influential in the development of the discipline of social policy. Chapter two takes the reader through the origins of social legislation in New Zealand right up to recent changes under the Bolger administration. Chapters three, four and five then set out the theoretical discussion under the headings of 'goals for well-being', 'social policy, the individual, and the state', and 'diversity and inclusiveness', the latter including a discussion of the feminist and anti-racist critiques of social policy. Chapter six is on 'policy analysis in the restructured state', and is the only chapter to specifically address the policy presentation and advice aspect. Chapters seven, eight, nine, and ten then address the specific areas of social policy summarised under Maori issues, income support, children and families, and health policy reform. Chapter eleven, subtitled 'sustainable diversity', brings the authors' arguments together and ends with a plea for a more greatly informed policy debate, enhanced policy research, and a rejection of the crude application of untested ideological principles.

'We argue for a robust public sphere with a collective response to the different forms of exclusion and deprivation caused by maldistribution of income, resources, and opportunities' (preface).

In their historical review, the authors note the power in the past of a centralised and powerful executive that introduced dramatic social-policy reform at key periods in the country's history, namely in the 1840s, the 1890s, the 1930s, and the 1980s. These brief periods of reform created durable environments for the making of social policy for the longer periods following. Steadily, a pattern was built up of state provision of services combined with management of the economy to achieve social-policy goals.

Thus the vision of the welfare state became inextricably mixed up with the management of the economy. In the post-war years the economy faltered (partly due to the burden of the welfare packages) and reform of the welfare state came back on the public agenda. Since 1984, the authors argue that welfare policy, or social-policy as they call it, has been captured by the neo-liberal movement and is the worse for it.

'The [1991] reforms were aimed at reducing dependency on the state, establishing a modest safety net, and eliminating the vestiges of universal access to welfare' (p.44).

This view of the world pervades the whole book. Their viewpoint is that of the recipients and not that of the taxpayer. It is assumed that the wealth is there to be redistributed. The question of growing a larger cake to finance more or better welfare services is not addressed. Nor are the dead weight losses of redistributing income as indicated recently by Scully for the IRD brought into the picture.

Readers of Public Sector will be most interested in Chapter six on policy analysis in a restructured state. The chapter discusses public-sector reform, the State Sector Act 1988, the Public Finance Act 1989, the Reserve Bank Act 1989, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 1994, and the Electoral Act 1993. It then goes on to discuss the role of policy analysis (the authors use policy advice and policy analysis interchangeably). There is much that is already familiar in the first part and the presentation is largely non-controversial. However, in discussing the new managerialist paradigm, (p 127), with its emphasis on financial management, efficiency, and fiscal restraint, they quote approvingly from Peter Harris that belief in the minimalist state is not supported by any social concensus, and that unrestrained market-based activity is not supported by any political concensus. This hardly seems correct in the face of the re-election of both parties in. the period concerned.

On policy analysis itself, the authors state that public sector reforms have led to what might be termed the 'new realism' in the policy sciences. The prognosis of crisis in the welfare sule generates an approach to public policy that exhibits a sense of inevitability about policy prescriptions. This prognosis draws selectively on empirical evidence about the costs of the welfare state, and with the dual strategy of empiricism and essentialism of the market, presents itself as free of ideology. The political aspect of questions about welfare and well-being is denied. Instead welfare questions are subordinated to economic management which is itself recast as exclusively a technical matter. There is a separation of ends and means and a lack of consultation with those affected (pp.136-7). The authors argue that the quality of policy advice suffers in this environment and criticise the SSC guidelines for policy advice as being too narrow. Their view is that quality advice should include the extent of consultation, the range of options identified, and the impacts on different groups. Some of these approaches have appeared in the cabinet manual in recent months, but the authors' recommendations appear to ignore the incremental element of policy advice and the short time frames given for responses to political instructions. The authors could also gain clarity if they distinguished between policy analysis, that is the research function, from policy advice, that is the proposals sent up to Ministers.

This book covers far more ground than discussed above. This review has attempted to summarise the authors' view on policy advice. The second half of the book summarises the recent history of four of the major areas of social policy and interested readers will find an informed if slightly biassed discussion of the major issues in each area that I found worth reading.

This book covers far more ground than discussed above. This review has attempted to summarise the authors' view on policy advice. The second half of the book summarises the recent history of four of the major areas of social policy and interested readers will find an informed if slightly biassed discussion of the major issues in each area that I found worth reading.