public policy

What is agenda denial?

Stopping an agenda being passed

What are the steps of Birkland’s model of public policy?

1. issue emergence

2. agenda setting

3. alternative selection

4. enactment

5. implementation

6. evaluation

What are some good points with Birklands’s approach of policy process?

1. as an educational tool

2. discussion point (ie Schattschneider)

3. Issue expansion

4. Increase of debate and fields of research in each area

What are the problems with Birkland’s model of public policy process?

Assumes rational decision making

one line of causation

Is public policy process open or closed?

It is closed. Hence, it is often stalled

What is public policy according to Dye 1972?

“Anything a government chooses to do or not to do”

What is another way of looking at Dye (1972’s) ideas of what public policy is?

• It is the actions or inactions designed to distribute political penalties in the policy process.

What does Dye say public policy usually involves?

Public policy involves the institutional and structural decision to not do something - or it involves no change to policy.

What are the 8 different categories policy action can be produced or occur across?

1. Policy is made by what goes into the policy process (laws attention, etc). The most important factor that goes into this is attention (Multiple streams theory and punctuated equilibrium theory)

2. Public policy is what comes out of the process, the distributive form (Schneider and Ingram 1993). Involves underlying power dynamics and consistent with social constructions and intersectionality. Influencers, based on the level of power you have

3. Policy can be made by street level bureaucrats (Lipsky 2010). They are identified by the front facing nature of their work (ie police officer giving a ticket)

4. Public policy can be situated in the state and include strategic selection of personell (Davis 2009). Used by Raghavan in White House

5. Can be made outside of government and include private governance (Pattberg 2005). If the state builds the road for a McDonalds

6. Can be made by individuals when they self-regulate themselves and others through norm creation and co-production (Foucault, 1991)

7. Can be made by supranational organisations who influence international and domestic policies, ie WHO

8. Foreign agents can make policy (foreign governments)

Why do policy responses happen?

The natural state is closed in order to protect those in power. Policy is mostly about how to maintain inaction.

• Western policy processes negotiate the threshold for responding to highly emotional issues on the basis of political distress

What are the three variables of policy change?

1. attention → to negative social reactions by the public

2. expectations → if something is out of proportion it can seem like a problem. The degree something stirs a reaction

3. identity

What is a problem in public policy?

A problem is defined as a political penalty where there is attention to negative social reactions (real, perceived or anticipated) by high value constituents (money, parents, white people) regarding a value-unacceptable deviation between an expected norm and perceived reality.

What are the two categories of social construction of target populations?

Advantaged (get real benefits, higher power, positively constructed),

dependents (ie babies, ATSI, nurses, not a lot of power)

Contender (people who have power but are negatively constructed, we don’t always like them - unions, homebuilders like Meriton.)

deviant (not a lot of power, negatively constructed, ie uni protestors, homeless)

How is the relationship between the state and the individual created?

The way that policy applies to you, the way that social constructions (ie gender, age) allocate benefits or burdens across an axis of power and positive/negative image. This means that power and social perceptions are unequal

How are policies distributed across groups?

In ways that produce rulers of participation that rewards and encourages some to participate, while punishing others and discouraging participation

• This creates a pattern of participation that privileges citizenship based on your group, and this affects the nature of the relationship to the state.

What is the “feed forward” and “policy makes politics” approach of Schneider and Ingram, 2007?

By entrenching the importance given to one group over another, the value of the problems they face over others, and the preferred kinds of solutions. In short policies are designed to send a message and produce an experience that changes target group behaviour.

What are the four ways that policies are allocated?

• substantive benefits

• symbolic benefits

• substantive burdens and

• symbolic burdens

• (benefits and burdens include resources and time)

Who gets substantative benefits?

Advantage

Who gets symbolic benefits?

Dependents

Who gets substantive burdens?

deviants

Who gets symbolic burdens?

contenders

According to Chris Papen-Naff what is the expected penalty policy cycle?

What is tolerable ineuqality?

The level of inequality that people in society are willing to accept without being uncomfortable and retaliating against

What are the government’s justifications for action in the housing sphere?

measures to promote efficiency (countering market failure), to enhance equity (addressing social justice concerns) and to ensure stability.

What is neoliberalism broadly?

A governance approach that prioritises the optimal use of resources as a key objective, emphasises the importance of individual consumer choice and is underpinned by ‘an overriding belief, verging on the theological, in the efficiency of free markets’ (Berry 2014)

What is the common justification for adopting a neoliberal approach to policy?

the belief that “an unfettered competitive market system in which both consumers and producers are intent on maximising their individual net benefits will lead to the maximisation of society’s net benefit” (Le Grand et al. 2008, p. 22).

What are the key state activities significant to the housing sphere involving?

• Land use planning and provision of basic utilities and other essential infrastructure.

• Regulation of building standards.

• Provision and operation of the legal frameworks that underpin property finance, investment, use and exchange.

What are the primary causes of the housing crisis?

• using housing as a commodity

• And according to Bourne and Smithe et al, Spatial immobility—interfering with product homogeneity and supply elasticity.

• Durability—thus the overwhelming bulk of housing stock is a legacy of past production.

• Limited adaptability—above features limit housing responsiveness to changing demands.

• High cost (relative to earnings)—thus housing cannot be purchased for cash.

• Multi-dimensional heterogeneity—housing is a package of many salient attributes (including size, type, condition, location, external space and features).

• Susceptibility to neighbourhood influences—local environmental influences can have major impacts on a dwelling, block or estate.

• Susceptibility to exogenous influence—sensitive to economy-wide changes.

The housing market also has externalities placed on others including:

• Le Grand et al, rough sleeping - individuals decide not to spend their money on accomodation.. directly impacting others in the area (91)

• Atkinson and Kintrea 2001 neighbourhood effects - …deprived people who live in deprived areas may have their life chances reduced compared to their counterparts in more socially mixed neighbourhoods … living in a neighbourhood which is predominantly poor is itself a source of disadvantage. (Atkinson and Kintrea 2001, pp. 3–4)

What are some other causes of the housing crisis?

• grossly underoccupied homes

• wealth inequality

• income inequality

• Financial deregulation has supported increases in housing indebtedness → house price volatility

• Influence of interest group politics

• ‘benelovent state’ idea → ‘motivations for state action have more to do with maintaining the political and economic order than with solving the housing crisis’ (Madden Marcuse)

• housing policy decision-making in Australia prioritises the maintenance of “conditions that enable home owners, rental investors, the finance industry and real estate agencies to reap large profits from housing” (Jacobs 2015a, p. 63).

What is rental stress?

Premised on the understanding affordable housing is a fundamental precondition for wellbeing

How is rental stress measured? Two approaches:

• the ratio appraoch

• the residual iincome approach (AHURI)

What is the radio approach?

the preferred approach) is often called the “30:40 rule”. A household is viewed as having a housing affordability problem or being in “rental stress” if they are on a low-income (defined as households in the bottom 40% of Australia’s income distribution) and having to devote more than 30% of their income to pay for accommodation. Rental stress is confined to low-income households on the basis that better off groups will usually be able to afford to spend more than 30% of household income on housing without it affecting their expenditure on essential items

What is the residual income method?

It is based on “budget standards” for households of different types/sizes and how much money is required to meet a minimum or modest standard of living through expenditure on non-housing items (see Saunders & Bedford, 2018). If there is insufficient income to pay rent after meeting one of these standards, the household has a housing affordability problem and is in rental stress

What is a primary cause of rental stress?

Rental stress is the result of the intersection between household incomes and rent levels. Looking firstly at rents, a big part of the problem is a dwindling supply of private rental dwellings which are affordable for low-income households using the 30% benchmark.

The other side of the rental stress problem is increasingly uncertain household incomes. Changes in the labour market such as an increase in casual and contract work, unemployment, underemployment and zero hours contracts have made household income increasingly difficult to predict

what is some key context to australia’s housing crisis?

1. Australia’s Housing Crisis: Key Issues

• Despite 30 years of economic growth, Australia faces a deep housing crisis:

• Rising homelessness

• Insecure and unaffordable private rentals

• Homeownership increasingly out of reach

• Massive shortage of social and affordable housing

• Housing unaffordability and insecurity now affect all tenure types: renters, would-be owners, and even some current owners.

• Post-WWII to 1970s: Strong government involvement; housing seen as a right and a pillar of the social contract.

• Since the 1990s: Decline in national policy focus; government role reduced to crisis accommodation and market subsidies.

• Neoliberal shift: Policy emphasis moved from direct provision to supporting the private market (tax breaks, deregulation).

What are the systemic failures that have led to the housing crises?

Systemic Failures

• Fragmented responsibility: Housing policy is split across federal, state, and local governments, leading to lack of coordination.

• Market-driven approach: Housing treated as a speculative asset, not as a social good.

• Property lobby influence: Vested interests (developers, investors) have shaped policy towards deregulation and tax benefits for the private sector.

• Academia’s limited role: Housing policy is not a core focus in universities, contributing to a lack of informed debate.

What are some consequences of policy failure in the housing crisis?

• Debt-fuelled investment: Has led to high after-housing poverty, especially for young people and low/moderate income renters.

• Residualised public housing: Public housing now only for the most vulnerable, and is declining in quality and quantity.

• Private rental insecurity: Growing numbers of renters face short leases, easy eviction, and rising rents.

• Homelessness and housing stress: Both are at record highs, with many people spending unsustainable proportions of income on housing.

• Quality concerns: Issues with high-rise apartment construction, meant to solve supply, have created new problems.

why has reformed failed in the housing crisis?

• Policy vacuum: No coherent national housing strategy since early 1990s.

• Fragmentation: Policy split between different levels of government and departments.

• Political reluctance: Fear of disturbing the “housing market money-go-round” and upsetting vested interests.

• Short-term thinking: Focus on property booms rather than long-term solutions.

what are some key approaches to resolving the housing crisis?

• System-wide reform: Treat housing as an interconnected system-supply, demand, finance, regulation.

• Holistic approach: Move beyond “the market will fix it” to active governance and coordination.

• Evidence-based policy: Use research and international examples to guide reform.

• Reform agenda:

• National housing strategy

• Tax and subsidy reform to reduce speculation

• Increased investment in social and affordable housing

• Stronger tenant protections and rental regulation

• Long-term, staged process to address structural challenges

What are some important statistics on rental stress?

Regulation and Tenant Security

• The PRS is lightly regulated compared to other countries.

• Tenants often have little protection:

• Short leases (usually 6 or 12 months, then month-to-month)

• Landlords can often evict with limited notice and no reason

• Rents can be increased to “whatever the market can bear”

• Low-income renters are especially vulnerable, facing:

• Rental stress (spending more than 30% of income on rent)

• Anxiety about eviction or rent increases

how is policy demonstrated within the housing crisis?

Policy Analysis and Housing Policy Example

• The way groups (e.g., renters, homeowners, homeless people) are constructed affects who benefits from housing policy.

 

• Advantaged groups (homeowners) are more likely to receive support; deviants (homeless) are often neglected or stigmatized.

What are some key theories mentioned in the public policy unit?

Key Theories Mentioned

• Multiple Streams Theory: Policy change happens when problems, solutions, and politics align.

 

• Punctuated Equilibrium: Policy is usually stable but can change rapidly when attention spikes.

 

• Governmentality (Foucault): Individuals and groups self-regulate, shaping policy through norms.