Re: More future history questions - UK

G'day,

> If you could get the smaller pacific islands to accept rule from
Canberra or Wellington you
> could reduce the overall cost of government. But I don't see those
pacific islands wanting
> to give up their self determination.

To a point, many are already very heavily directed in joint
"initiatives"

> Also taking over administrative responibility for the other countries
would mean that Australian
> and NZ would take over responibilites for their debts.

They have had to pick the debts up already a few times - for instance
when the treasurer of one nation bet his entire budget on the Melbourne
Cup.

> It would mean a tenfold increase in welfare
> costs for those countries to provide those citizens the same standard
of living.

They have so few citizens (barring PNG) that the cost would be minimal,
actually less than the aid they currently receive.

> Australia could achieve a much better cost reduction by scrapping the
double house
> state governments and having a central government that meant
something.

There are two strong school of thought on this. One is dump the state
governments and just have local and national (given the small total
population). The other is to dump local and state and move to 25
regional governments (supported by a very large decentralisation of
governance infrastructure). Who supports what doesn't fall along party
lines, which means its not an easy pathway to either coming to be.

Cheers

Beth