Sophie Scamps: Ministerial 'turf wars' are stalling critical policy reforms

Speaking at the Australia Institute’s Revenue Summit, Dr Scamps said “portfolio silos” are blocking meaningful progress with cross-cutting challenges, such as preventative health and climate change, are falling through the cracks.

“I’ve witnessed, on many occasions, where different ministers, different portfolios act in competition against one another rather than in concert.

“It’s been quite shocking to see.”

Dr Scamps, an emergency doctor before entering Parliament, introduced The Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill to Federal Parliament earlier this year, calling for governments to prioritise long-term sustainable policymaking over short term gains.

“For the first time in modern history, our children will be worse off than their parents,” she told the summit. “Centuries of progress are being undone.”

She said future generations “will inherit a world facing converging and connected crises” that current leaders, policymakers and economists failed to confront, including climate change, environmental destruction, a housing crisis and epidemics of depression, anxiety and obesity.

“It is the era of polycrisis. These multiple disasters have not happened overnight. Each of them has been decades in the making.”

Dr Scamps urged Canberra to increase investment in preventative care, pointing out that “every dollar invested in preventative health saves over $14 in health care and other costs”.

“Preventable, non-communicable conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, cancers and diabetes … contribute to half of Australia’s hospitalisations and cost the government approximately $82 billion a year”.

The Australian Government has a National Preventative Health Strategy 2021-2030 but Dr Scamps notes Australia has “one of the lowest levels of investment in preventative health” of any developed country, allocating roughly 0.2% of the GDP” compared to Canada’s 7% to 8%.

The Independent Member blamed performative policymaking. “We are sadly stuck in a cycle of short-termism.”

“With the pressure to get re-elected every three years, ministers are rewarded for delivering visible near-term wins on their own portfolios and not for contributing to the whole of government reform that might take years to bear fruit.”

As a result, she said, “prevention strategies remain “unfunded, unimplemented and unloved, gathering dust on the minister’s shelf.”

She also warned that policy is too often beholden to” entrenched commercial interests and powerful industry lobbies that repeatedly stalled genuine tax reform … from carbon pricing to health taxes, by protecting short term corporate profits at the expense of long term public good”.

The Productivity Commission has been asked by Canberra to conduct an inquiry into “delivery quality care more efficiently”.

It noted, “Despite their benefits, governments are often reluctant to invest in prevention programs. Funding decisions tend to prioritise immediate needs and align with the responsibilities of specific departmental portfolios”.

Its interim report, released in August, recommended federal, state and territory governments work together to establish of a National Prevention Investment Framework.

“Investing in effective prevention can reduce demand for acute and more costly services down the track, helping to slow ongoing growth in government expenditure,” said the report.

Dr Scamps welcomed the report and called for an independent commission for future generations.

“In meeting the needs of the current generations, we know we must not compromise the well-being of future generations or their capacity to meet their own needs.”