THE man who served 16 federal treasurers has lashed the federal government for failing to bed down long-term funding arrangements for major policies, such as the Gonski education reforms and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
In a wide-ranging speech, former treasury secretary Ted Evans said education should be the nation's future economic powerhouse.
He also called for a national population policy that would help progress the debate surrounding asylum seekers, imported labour and labour offshoring.
Asked whether there should already be funding arrangements in place underpinning long-term policy announcements, such as the Gonski reforms and the NDIS, Mr Evans replied, "Have they been properly costed ... is that information in front of the government when decisions are being made?
"I don't know the answer to that; it should be."
He said in past decades federal governments had a policy of not making decisions outside the budget context.
"I know that it (that procedure) is no longer followed and that's a great pity because looking at things in isolation ... you could never run a business that way, you can't run a country that way, not in the long term," Mr Evans told the Melbourne Institute 2012 Economic and Social Outlook Conference on Thursday.
He said there was a growing fear of planning in public policy.
"Improving our productivity performance is the number one priority," he said.
"(There is a) need to address issues now and to act on policy and it's in that area that I feel disappointed."
Mr Evans said political debate was focused on what he viewed as non-issues, such as achieving budget surpluses.
While he welcomed a commitment to fiscal discipline, the aim of budget surpluses had been supported by both sides of politics for about 15 years.
Australia needed to invest in education, he said.
"It won't be all that long before education is Australia's number one export and potentially could be, I'd love to see it be, Australia's number one industry," he said.
Mr Evans retired last year after serving as Westpac chairman for four years and stepping down as treasury chief in 2001.
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