ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the evidence concerning what has changed. It presents explanations of why the changes were made, what differences they have made and why some but not others were effective. The chapter describes the main arguments of the study suggesting a more comprehensive explanation of expenditure management. During the 1960s Australia's system of line-item budgeting was restrictive and inflexible, based on annual cash appropriations for specified items, and with minimal capacity to move resources to where they would be most efficient or effective. Central agencies developed rolling forward estimates of expenditure assisted in both resource planning and policy decisionmaking. Cash ceilings were imposed on departments with great relish in the 1970s but quickly abandoned when other more effective means of controlling departmental expenditure evolved. Budgeting represents a fundamental expression of power within government and society. The politics of the Australian budget process have been dominated by guardians, and this feature alone principally explains Australia's consistent record of fiscal discipline.
