This festschrift celebrates the extensive contribution John Wanna has made to the research and practice of politics, policy and public administration.
It includes both personal acknowledgements of his work and substantial essays on the issues that he focused most closely upon during his academic career: budgeting and financial management, politics, and public policy and administration.
The essays address contemporary developments in public sector financial management in Australia and overseas, changing political processes in Queensland and the Commonwealth, and public governance and administration reform trajectories in Australia and internationally, including in China.
A common theme is the importance of linking research to practice, reflecting John Wanna's own style and contribution. Essays include exploration of the interface between academia and practice, including from the perspective of practitioners.
The authors of the essays in this volume include eminent Australian and international scholars of public administration, experienced public service practitioners and younger scholars influenced by John Wanna.
Preface – Ken Smith Foreword – Jim Chalmers Contributors Portrait of a life enthralled in politics and academe – John Wanna Section 1: Budgeting and financial managementIntroduction to Section 1: Public finance, budgeting and financial management 1. Reflections on John Wanna's contributions to theory and practice – Allen Schick 2. Australian budgeting and beyond: Exploring John Wanna’s scholarly surplus – Evert Lindquist 3. Performance management for success: Public sector organisations in Australia and the Philippines – Lewis Hawke 4. A system in adjustment: Australia’s evolving public budget management system – Stein Helgeby 5. Contradictions in implementing performance management – John Halligan Section 2: PoliticsIntroduction to Section 2: Queensland and Australian politics 6. Cabinet government: The least bad system of government? – Patrick Weller 7. 'A long revolution’: The historical coverage of Queensland politics and government – Chris Salisbury 8. Policymaking, party executives and parliamentary policy actors – Marija Taflaga 9. Models of government–business relations: Industry policy preferences versus pragmatism – Michael de Percy Section 3: Public policy and administrationIntroduction to Section 3: Public policy and public administration 10. Beyond new public governance – R. A. W. Rhodes 11. Chinese public administration developments and prospects: An Australian (and Hong Kong) perspective – Andrew Podger and Hon Chan 12. Coming to terms with the state – Jim Jose Section 4: Working with practitionersIntroduction to Section 4: Working with practitioners 13. Engaging with government: A confessional tale – Paul ’t Hart 14. Neoliberalism? That’s not how practitioners view public sector reform – Peter Shergold and Andrew Podger 15. Of ‘trifles’ and ‘manhole covers’: The practitioner–academic interface – Isi Unikowski Appendix 1: John Wanna’s main publications Appendix 2: Higher degree students supervised by John Wanna 1983–2020
