Housing and disability services

This Master’s Thesis compares the dynamics of intergovernmental relations (IGR) in Canada and Australia. In particular, the study explores how two such similar countries have developed such distinct sets of intergovernmental institutions. In Australia, the Commonwealth has increasingly dominated IGR since the 1930s, a process which culminated with the creation of the Council of Australian Government, a “vertical” (Commonwealth-state) institution. In Canada, federal-provincial-territorial relations have been far less institutionalized. Instead, “horizontal” (provincial-territorial) relations have evolved slowly into the Council of the Federation, the most regularized forum for IGR in Canadian history. By examining the historical development of federalism more generally and IGR specifically, this study uncovers a mutually-reinforcing relationship between centralization and the verticality of IGR in Australia, and a corresponding bond between decentralization and horizontality in Canada. Based on original interviews with key intergovernmental officials in each country, the study attributes these relationships to a number of factors, including the presence of multi-nationalism, the strength of intrastate federalism, the nature of judicial interpretation, the structure of fiscal federalism, and the personal style of political figures. The thesis concludes that verticality in Canada and horizontality in Australia are functions of the same factors which made one decentralized and the other centralized, and that institutions of IGR are both cause and effect of the prevailing dynamic in either federation.

This Master’s Thesis compares the dynamics of intergovernmental relations (IGR) in Canada and Australia. In particular, the study explores how two such similar countries have developed such distinct sets of intergovernmental institutions. In Australia, the Commonwealth has increasingly dominated IGR since the 1930s, a process which culminated with the creation of the Council of Australian Government, a “vertical” (Commonwealth-state) institution. In Canada, federal-provincial-territorial relations have been far less institutionalized. Instead, “horizontal” (provincial-territorial) relations have evolved slowly into the Council of the Federation, the most regularized forum for IGR in Canadian history. By examining the historical development of federalism more generally and IGR specifically, this study uncovers a mutually-reinforcing relationship between centralization and the verticality of IGR in Australia, and a corresponding bond between decentralization and horizontality in Canada. Based on original interviews with key intergovernmental officials in each country, the study attributes these relationships to a number of factors, including the presence of multi-nationalism, the strength of intrastate federalism, the nature of judicial interpretation, the structure of fiscal federalism, and the personal style of political figures. The thesis concludes that verticality in Canada and horizontality in Australia are functions of the same factors which made one decentralized and the other centralized, and that institutions of IGR are both cause and effect of the prevailing dynamic in either federation.

Housing and disability services

<p>This study is an attempt to come up with a comprehensive study of the supervision aspect of intergovernmental relations as enshrined under the FDRE Constitution and the SA Constitution. It also helps to expose some of the problems supervisory relationship of different orders of government in Ethiopia and South Africa face. It is significant as it deals with the intergovernmental relations gap in the FDRE Constitution and draws attention to a very important aspect of a multi-order government&rsquo / s feature. It helps Ethiopia to learn from the experience of other countries. It suggests adjustments needed, in particular having regard to the relatively well developed national supervision system enshrined in the SA Constitution. Finally, the work adds upon studies relating to supervision by the centre of regions in African states.</p>

<p>This study is an attempt to come up with a comprehensive study of the supervision aspect of intergovernmental relations as enshrined under the FDRE Constitution and the SA Constitution. It also helps to expose some of the problems supervisory relationship of different orders of government in Ethiopia and South Africa face. It is significant as it deals with the intergovernmental relations gap in the FDRE Constitution and draws attention to a very important aspect of a multi-order government&rsquo / s feature. It helps Ethiopia to learn from the experience of other countries. It suggests adjustments needed, in particular having regard to the relatively well developed national supervision system enshrined in the SA Constitution. Finally, the work adds upon studies relating to supervision by the centre of regions in African states.</p>

Magister Legum - LLM / South Africa

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / There is overwhelming evidence that South Africa’s rivers are heavily polluted, a situation which is attributable to a large degree to poorly functioning and inefficiently managed waste water treatment works in municipalities. The evidence suggests, furthermore, that municipalities often do not comply with their constitutional obligation to provide water services in a sustainable manner and promote a safe and healthy environment. Such non-compliance infringes on people's constitutionally guaranteed rights to a pollution-free environment and equitable access to sufficient and safe water. The problem is that municipalities are not properly managing the waste water treatment works (WWTWs) and not regulating industrial discharge into these works in accordance with the prescribed national norms and standards. The National Water Act 36 of 1998 and other related Acts provide for legal and informal enforcement mechanisms that criminalise acts of pollution. However, none of them have been effective in enforcing municipal compliance with the national norms and standards of effluent management. There are two main reasons for this. First, the constitutional structure does not allow the Minister responsible for water management to exercise direct supervision of the municipalities despite the functional relationship the Department of Water and Sanitation has with municipalities in respect of water. Secondly, the Constitution (1996) instructs the spheres of government to avoid legal processes and cooperate with one another by intervening to execute the function if the sphere responsible for the function lacks capacity. This thesis explores the possible use of two statutory instruments of cooperative government and intergovernmental relations as strategies to complement and support the conventional enforcement measures in the water sector: the establishment of water intergovernmental forums; and the use of implementation protocols to supervise municipalities that chronically lack capacity as a way of providing targeted support and monitoring to facilitate an effective compliance and enforcement regime in the water sector.

<p>In Russia federalism and the design of federal institutions have been greatly debated topics ever since the beginning of the 1990s. When the newly elected Russian president Vladimir Putin introduced a number of federal reforms in May 2000 it represented the culmination of a debate on federalism that had been triggered by the political and economic crisis of 1998. In many ways these reforms entailed a different perspective on federalism, or in the terminology of this thesis a new “federal paradigm”, from the one that had dominated most of the Yeltsin era. At the same time the relations between federal and regional authorities, often referred to as intergovernmental relations, appeared to become less confrontational and fragmented than before. This work examines this latest stage in the Russian state-building process.</p><p>In particular two elements are scrutinized. The first is the shift of federal paradigms that the federal reforms reflected. Combining organisation theory and historical institutionalism it is argued that the origins of federal paradigm shifts often can be traced to the federal system itself. In Russia the failure of the federal system manifested through the political and economic crisis of 1998 changed many governmental actors’ views on federalism. However, it was not until Putin became president that the new federal paradigm could consolidate.</p><p>The second element concerns the connections between the new federal paradigm and the mode of intergovernmental relations. This work presents the argument that the way in which federalism is interpreted and conceptualised by governmental actors is important for the variation of intergovernmental relations across and within federal systems. Deriving from federal theory and some comparisons with other federal systems it is concluded that the federal paradigm that Putin represented in his first presidential term was on the whole more conducive for coordinate intergovernmental relations, at least in the short term.</p>

The effect of federalism on the development of public policy is a widely debated topic. In terms of environmental policy, this issue assumes greater importance because of the lack of clarity in the constitutional division of powers. It is the purpose of this research to examine environmental impact assessment (EIA) &mdash; one of the higher-profile aspects of environmental policy &mdash; in order to establish how intergovernmental relations in Canada have affected policy and process development in this area. It is hypothesized that unilateral federal action in this policy area contributes to a corresponding increase in the stringency of provincial EIA processes. To test this, a two-step analysis is adopted: first analyzing developments at both the federal and provincial levels from 1985-1995 &mdash; a period which witnessed exceptionally high levels of public concern for the environment and increased federal involvement in EIA &mdash; and second discussing key events and agreements which affected intergovernmental relations and determining whether these related to those developments identified. This research finds that greater federal involvement in EIA was a catalyst for some positive reform at the provincial level, although this result varied significantly between the provinces examined. Based on the evidence gathered, it is concluded that some form of intergovernmental collaboration and competition both have a place in the development of EIA policy and that neither should be pursued as an end in itself.