Commonwealth and state role overlap

Question

Senator ROBERTS: I don't think giving money to the states as part of grants and things like that is a duplication. It's where you're doing the same services. It seems to be rife in health, education, environment. Senator Gallagher: We have slightly different responsibilities, though. In health, states primarily run the hospital system, but we have responsibility in primary care-GPs, Medicare, aged care, those kinds of things. In education it's more universities, early education and care; states have public schools. So there are differences. I'm just not sure how we would provide an answer to that on notice in a way that would not take a lot of effort. Senator ROBERTS: Well, how much is a lot of effort compared to the benefits once we work them out? Australians are in a cost-of-living crisis. The government's increasing taxes, so why not look at cutting the need for taxes? Senator Gallagher: We're cutting taxes as well. There's tax reform, which includes tax cuts. But fundamentally, we probably have a disagreement that the Commonwealth duplicates functions of the states. I think the Federation and its roles and responsibilities are pretty well understood, and the architecture of the Commonwealth Public Service reflects that, just as the states' reflect theirs. Senator ROBERTS: I think it's a huge opportunity to at least have a look at it and investigate it. Senator Gallagher: We're always looking at ways to streamline. We genuinely are. We have no appetite to be in places that the Commonwealth shouldn't be involved because we have enough in the areas of our responsibility. But I'll see if there is anything useful that Treasury can provide.

Answer

See attached response.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000454 Commonwealth and state role overlap.pdf (opens in a new tab)