THE new government chief executive could play a key role in helping reorientate the Council of Ministers, following this summer’s elections, according to a retiring minister.
A persistent critic of ministerial government, Environment Minister John Young – who is not seeking re-election in June – said that new chief executive Suzanne Wylie’s collaborative approach could help reverse what he called ‘the centralist, non-consensual process’ which had developed under former leader Charlie Parker.
Asked about an apparent lack of co-ordination across the Council of Ministers’ table, Deputy Young replied: ‘I don’t believe the former chief executive’s style helped the Council of Ministers perform in a way your question implies. I think his was very much a tight, centralist non-consensual process.’
Deputy Young said there was no facilitation to help ministers work together. He suggested that ‘ministerial boards’ involving backbenchers helping ministers develop policy, and ‘cabinet sub-committees’ – where groups of ministers worked together on issues like social policy, infrastructural issues and the environment – could generate more policy-based discussion within the council.
‘My advice to the new chief executive is that it’s something I would recommend strongly that she tries to help the new Council of Ministers with – in the way it’s structured and goes about its business,’ he said.
Speaking of the Bridging Island Plan, adopted unanimously following a two-week States meeting that ended last week, Deputy Young said he hoped it would provide the tools for the States to deal with the environmental challenges generated by the Island’s increasing population, control of which would require a stronger approach.
He said that the tension between economic growth and the environment had been allowed to get to such a level that it was now ‘a serious threat’. ‘What I’ve been able to do with the [Bridging Island] plan is put in place tools to moderate that threat.’
