The State of the States 2003

Background Information on the 10th anniversary issue

By the Evatt Foundation

The following is a background briefing on the Evatt Foundation's report: The State of the States 2003.

What is The State of the States?

The State of the States is produced as part of the Foundation's State of Australia series, which comprises reports and books on the performance and policies of Australia's governments. Each year a State Government League Table is published as part of the series in a report entitled The State of the States. The series commenced in 1994 and has published ten League Tables. Note that the report also contains extensive analysis and commentary on the League Table results.

What is the State Government League Table?

The State Government League Table ranks the State governments according to 15 social, environmental, and economic indicators. The idea is to assess the comparative performance of the governments in achieving the perfect balance: excellent social services, strong environmental protection and buoyant job-generating economic activity. Comparisons are based on data from the Commonwealth Grants Commission (8 indicators), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (6 indicators), and ABARE (1 indicator). The League Table results are carefully analysed in the body of the report.

What are the Key Indicators?

SOCIAL

• health
• education
• welfare
• safety & emergencies
• transport

ENVIRONMENTAL

• national parks and wildlife
• culture and recreation
• sanitation and environment
• environmentally friendly products (greenpower)
• energy intensity

ECONOMIC

• industry assistance
• capital investment
• full-time jobs
• total jobs
• production

Who produces the League Table?

The League Table is produced by the Evatt Foundation, which is located at the University of NSW.

The Evatt Foundation is the think tank of the Australian labour movement. It was founded in 1979 and named in honour of Dr Herbert Vere Evatt, one of the Australian labour movement's greatest statesmen.

The Foundation is an independent research organisation. It is not affiliated with any political party

How do I get a copy of the full report?

The State of the States 2003 report (100 pages) is available from the Evatt Foundation for $24.95.

With the generous assistance of the State Public Services Federation (SPSF), this special 10th anniversary issue contains additional reports on the performance of the States over the past 10 years, as well as extensive reports on privatisation, child protection and corrective services policies.

While the League Table is published on the Evatt Website, you can only get the detailed descriptions, analysis and commentary on the results, as well as the additional policy reports, by purchasing the full report. Limited back issues of The State of the States are also available.

To order a copy of the full report you can contact the Evatt Foundation in the following ways:

• Use the Order Form
• Tel: (02) 9385 2966
• Fax: (02) 9385 2967
• Email: evatt@unsw.edu.au
• Post: Evatt Foundation, University of NSW, NSW, 2052.

Related Articles

• 2003 Performance tables of States
• Check out past results
• From the 2002 report, read about the method used to assess the comparative performance of the States in detail
• Order form to purchase The State of the States

For more information

• Report Author: Stephen Rix,(02) 4268 1408 or (02) 9810 0265
• Evatt Foundation: Fay Gervasoni, (02) 9385 2966 (w)
• Evatt Foundation: Jeannette McHugh (Secretary), (02)9387 3199 (h)

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