Advantages of selective convergence in a federal system.

Convergence in transport and traffic policy, planning and regulation brings with it substantial advantages. Common road rules among the states and a standard gauge rail network linking the states are examples where the advantages of convergence are often cited. While these no doubt do provide advantages and a sense of shared experience and co-operation, this paper examines several transport case studies to find that, while headline convergence may be regarded as a good thing, elements of it are symbolic. Indeed, one of the advantages of a federal system, where many of the constitutional powers relating to transport are residual powers of the states, is that it permits policies to be tailored to local circumstances. This advantage of a federal system is that it facilitates innovation in policy and practice without the need to convince policy makers of the innovations applicability across the entire commonwealth. The case studies suggest that pursuing tangible and quantifiable benefits from specific convergence actions is a more enduring and sustainable approach than pursuing convergence for the sake of convergence. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E216297.