Local democracy and local government efficiency: the case of elected executives in Australian local government

Grant, Bligh and Dollery, Brian and Gow, Jeff (2011) Local democracy and local government efficiency: the case of elected executives in Australian local government. Australian Journal of Political Science, 46 (1). pp. 53-69. ISSN 1036-1146

Abstract

In the international context it has been argued that institutional reform to leadership in local government can improve the sector in terms of both its democratic legitimacy and its operational efficiency. In Australia, despite two decades of far-reaching reform processes across state government jurisdictions, focused heavily on structural change, local government still faces daunting problems, yet the potential of reform to political leadership as a method of alleviating these problems has not been fully explored. This paper thus examines the applicability of alternative leadership models to
Australian local government, in particular the elected executive model which characterises some American and European local government systems. We argue that the introduction of elected executives could prove problematic in terms of accountability and representation in Australian local government.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Permanent restricted access to published version due to publisher copyright restrictions.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business and Law - School of Accounting, Economics and Finance (1 Jan 2011 - 30 Jun 2013)
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business and Law - School of Accounting, Economics and Finance (1 Jan 2011 - 30 Jun 2013)
Date Deposited:	01 Mar 2011 04:59
Last Modified:	24 Aug 2014 21:28
Uncontrolled Keywords:	elected executives; local government; Australia
Fields of Research (2008):	16 Studies in Human Society > 1606 Political Science > 160601 Australian Government and Politics 16 Studies in Human Society > 1605 Policy and Administration > 160509 Public Administration 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services > 1503 Business and Management > 150310 Organisation and Management Theory
Fields of Research (2020):	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4408 Political science > 440801 Australian government and politics 44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4407 Policy and administration > 440708 Public administration 35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour > 350709 Organisation and management theory
Socio-Economic Objectives (2008):	C Society > 94 Law, Politics and Community Services > 9402 Government and Politics > 940203 Political Systems
Identification Number or DOI:	https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2010.544284
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/18458

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