NEWS AND REVIEWS: Viewpoint The politics of public sector change

become more apparent, similarities have emerged between the rationalisation of public schooling in the mid 1980s and the transformation of public health in the 1990s. OBJECTIVE This article aims to discuss the evolution of health services in South Australia and help us answer the question of how best to manage our public and private health infrastructure in a changing economic and social context. DISCUSSION Both strategies in education and health share common elements of cost cutting, attempts at improving efficiencies, a flirting with the private sector and the attendant risk of reduced quality of services to the public. This situation in both sectors is indicative of a shift in public policy and a growth in the belief that private management of public sector infrastructure can help resolve the funding crises around our education and health systems. In the mid 1980s in South Australia,there was a crisis in the education system. Revenue for the management of state education was insufficient to meet the needs of burgeoning demand as more and more students stayed on at school t