Public policy in Australia and New Zealand: The new global context

Australia and New Zealand have shared in the current wave of interest in globalisation. Indeed, it may well be that some of the dimensions of globalisation are more pressing for nation-states like Australia and New Zealand. Both nations have relatively small economies and neither fits particularly easily into trans-national, regionally based groupings of nation-states that offer one way for smaller economies to adjust to global change. Yet where once the thrust of policy was to shut out external economic forces, for the past two decades governments in Australia and New Zealand have been pro-active in adapting to changes emanating from beyond their shores. The repercussions of this process of active engagement with global economic forces have been felt to varying degrees in all policy areas and it is the resulting policy change and its consequences we seek to map in this special issue of the journal. In the present article we set the scene for such an examination by reviewing the various empirical indicators available for charting the process of globalisation. We identify the institutional similarities and differences between the two countries that may constrain or facilitate globalisation, and consider a number of issues and questions that are important when analysing comparative policy development in Australia and New Zealand in a global context.