Unit 5: (Week 09 & Week 10) Agenda setting and policy discourse

It is and will always be the case that many issues compete for the attention of government. From the myriad of concerns that are brought to government attention, however, limited time and resources will ensure that only a few are chosen for policy attention (Anderson 2005). The outcome of this contest of issues becomes known as the ‘policy agenda’, a useful metaphor in that it reminds us that policy makers can only pay attention to as many issues as their limited time and resources will allow. Making it onto the policy agenda means that what was once a private concern is now transformed into a policy issue, commanding the resources of government and becoming a part of the policy cycle (Bridgman & Davis 2004). Tis unit deals with the questin that how and why issues become policy problems?

Week 9: Lecture 9

  • Issue identification and agenda setting 
  • Policy discourse as problem construction 
  • Policy discourse as gatekeeping 

Week 10: Lecture 10

  • Policy discourse as politics 
  • Democratising the policy process 
  • Case study: Decreasing petrol prices during COVID 19: What’s the issue? 

Required Reading:

Maddison, S and Denniss, R.(2009), An Introduction to Australian Public Policy: Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press 

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