Decision-Making Context for Public Policy Development

3 DECISION-MAKING CONTEXT FOR PUBLIC POLICY DEVELOPMENT 

On the whole, politicians respond to their nnderstanding of what the people who elected them want or will accept as policy on social issues, coloured very strongly by the perceived cost of the options before them. This understanding is mediated by gatekeepers —senior government bnreancrats, advisers, and lobbyists who purport 

Eliminating Serious Injury and Death from Road Transport 

Potential medium-term gains (beyond a 2- to 5-year time horizon) are usually heavily discounted by political leaders and many senior bureaucrats who may be on short-term (often 5-year) employment contracts. There is limited perceived payoff for them in personal terms to recommend radical solutions to a traffic safety problem that lacks political saUency. In our experience, often the response to discussion about a policy option that is progressive will be I don t think my minister could support that, which on further probing (when possible) often leads to an admission that the officer has personal qualms about the suggestion, with his or her minister not even being let into the conversation on the issue. 

This behaviour is, it is asserted, widespread in Australia and New Zealand and in many motorising countries in their region it is tied up with values and competence and a risk-averse philosophy and has a major effect upon public policy development and outcomes, especially in the challenging area of traffic safety. When the gatekeepers are not as expert in the subject matter as their senior advising staff, then suboptimal conveyance of any advice to ministers is much more likely. 

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