A leading role for Australia: health work at the OECD

The chapter describes Australia’s involvement in the OECD’s health work, an involvement of only minor interest for over twenty years but that increased sharply from 1997 to 1998. It was a rapidly increased and successful involvement, resulting in a programme of health work that brought it substantial influence. It was an influence that persisted for a decade and demonstrated that a middle power with a clear strategy, experienced officials and a willingness to provide significant funds to support its proposals could achieve an influential position in an international organisation. The change in strategy that spurred this development commenced under the first Howard Government with a period of ‘forum shopping’ that resulted in the selection of the OECD, rather than the WHO, as the forum for an expansion of health work in which the Department of Health and Ageing was interested. The chapter then moves on to illustrate the difficulties faced in promoting increased health work at the OECD at a time of severe budgetary constraint and the desire of successive Australian ambassadors to the OECD to curtail the growth in the breadth and cost of its work. Key words: health; influence; strategy; WHO; forum shopping