What’s more, well-funded special interests such as businesses and unions are putting more resources into convincing people that the public interest just so happens to coincide with their vested interest. Politicians are often reluctant to bite the interests that feed their electoral campaigns and increasingly employ them once they become ex-politicians.

As the electorate’s fear of change and vested interests are becoming stronger, the institutional forces that counter them – political parties and the public service – are becoming weaker.

Political parties are losing their ability to represent the public interest. Their membership represents a shrinking cross-section of the community, and they debate policy less. For the remaining members they are often just a route to power – whether by election or appointment.

Meanwhile, the public service’s ability to provide strategic policy advice is being hollowed out, as documented by the recent Thodey Review of the Australian Public Service. “Efficiency dividends” have tended to cut strategic policy areas. More of the public service’s time is being spent responding to short-term issues, so the policy muscles waste away. We’re falling into a vicious cycle: when governments do want policy work, they often commission external consultants to do it – and so the best and brightest are increasingly attracted to work outside the public service.

It doesn’t help that more politicians think that it is their job to identify policy changes, and that the job of the public service is simply to implement them. This is a strange view: public servants typically have deep expertise in a policy area, an accurate understanding of what has (and has not) worked in the past, and an ability to identify unintended consequences.

Politicians often lack much of this. Their expertise is typically a much deeper connection with voters – an understanding of what will and won’t fly in popular debate, and an instinct for knowing how much targeted communications might nudge public opinion along. And yet, politicians increasingly think they know better. The National Broadband Network, Snowy 2.0, the Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop – a veritable herd of white elephants – were all conceived and announced before receiving any substantial input from public servants.