Australia's government is too big but that is not the same as wishing for small government - only 'smaller'.

It is not just about the size of government but what services are being provided. The plethora of new government agencies to deal with climate change and energy is OTT when these functions could easily be dealt with within relevant existing portfolios. A climate change division could easily service the needs equally as well as a whole department with it's own bureaucratic infrastructure and extra costs.

However, to propose that AGW was a conspiracy of big bureacracy is stretching the truth just a bit. Much of the response by government was from growing pressures from the public and increasing evidence by scientists. Indeed ignoring climate change was as much of a vote loser as taking it on board, in the end the government had to make a choice. Howard did the same thing and went for an ETS at the end of his leadership.

The Public Service is too big, of that there is no doubt and alarmingly much of it is at the middle to top end, not at the service delivery end where services are often declining to the public. The current Clayton's Efficiency Dividents are contributing to the problem as politicians wipe their hands of it once they gain brownie points for 'reducing' government. It is a joke.

Hear hear, Skeptic.
Speaking of 'hysteria'... Jon J suggests that 'Government' likes taxing people, and more, looks for excuses to tax people.
I would suggest that if by 'Government' he refers to politicians, of any stamp, that is pretty hysterical. Politicians love Popularity and Power; popularity because it gives them power. It is largely for this reason so many governments have preferred to borrow (or print) money, than increase taxes.
I suppose if we are talking about the permanent public service, they might be in favour of raising taxes, as -from their point of view- matching taxes to expenditure equals 'living within our means'.
Perhaps the first step to reining in bureaucratic growth would be to swap from a growth economy to a static one.
The more we grow, the more they grow.

There will be a few winners who will become multi millioniares, whilst most of us will be a lot poorer for it.

Grim,

You certainly have not forgotten the “Be alert but not alarmed” of Bush-Howard vintage.

Well, a couple of times, I made a very suspicious looking parcel and left it on a well visible public bench.

In minutes a bomb disposable crew was there going through their scary rigmarole.

The whole country was well in the grip of fabricated fear.

The Egyptian driver of the bus I often take, was telling me that, after all, under the King, life was more relaxed, less stressing than when the politicians Nasser, Al Sadat and Mubarak took over.

Now he cries for his homeland under the heels of army Generals