Debate, serious discussion and deliberation are valued highly in a democracy not just for their own sake, but because they are considered essential to testing the quality of ideas and arguments.
Martin Parkinson is expected to be announced as the new head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, replacing Michael Thawley.
Roger Phillips/QUT
The yet-to-be-announced appointment of former treasury secretary Martin Parkinson to head the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet is a tale of justice restored, with a touch of Gilbert and Sullivan…
The secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Michael Thawley, wants the public service to open its doors to the outside world.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Michael Thawley, surprised at finding so many closed doors – requiring swipe cards – when he became secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, has now opened most of the internal ones…
There’s a huge role for universities to play beyond the ivory tower.
From www.shutterstock.com
Evidence-based solutions to our systemic dilemmas won’t be conjured out of thin air. Universities, governments and businesses all have to work together.
The Union Buildings in Pretoria, home to South Africa’s government. Public confidence in civil servants has been severely eroded.
Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
Political factors have played a disproportionate role in decisions on the promotion, transfer and performance assessments of government officials.
When Treasurer Joe Hockey presents the budget next week it will be worth reviewing the language he and Prime Minister Tony Abbott use about government spending.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Police in England and Wales have been told to review nearly 2,000 cases of alleged corruption after Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found that no action had been taken in two-thirds of investigations…
Clive Palmer was totally opposed to the government’s “direct action” climate policy only a few months ago. Now he’s voting for it.
AAP/Alan Porritt
In a move that channels John Howard, Tony Abbott has put changing the GST on the political agenda, just over a year after assuring the public it would not be altered, “full stop, end of story”. In the…
In the 27 years since the Hawke government came up with a public service efficiency dividend, the evidence has mounted against it.
National Archives of Australia
Every now and again in public policy debates a consensus emerges on some particular point among policymakers, stakeholders and commentators. These moments are distressingly rare. It is even more distressing…
A fifth of UK workers are employed in the public sector. Though public sector work is obvious crucial – schools, hospitals, police and so on – measuring performance can be a challenge as output is not…
Australia’s public service broadly lacks in a number of key areas that are necessary for the Abbott government’s vision of a small government to become a reality.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The 2014-15 federal budget, released by treasurer Joe Hockey earlier this week, set out a vision of government that is leaner, meaner and more efficient. It built on the Coalition’s “Smaller Government…
Successive governments of both sides have failed to answer the fundamental questions of what it is that government should actually do and how it should go about doing it.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Treasurer Joe Hockey’s first federal budget set out a vision of a smaller, less intrusive role for government. The sentiment can hardly be a surprise; prime minister Tony Abbott has long championed the…
Treasurer Joe Hockey and finance minister Mathias Cormann face a difficult sell for the Abbott government’s tough first budget.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The Abbott government is hoping an A$11.6 billion infrastructure spending package, combined with a $20 billion medical research fund, will help soften the blow of widespread tightening of health and welfare…
A report criticising government oversight of a major Gladstone harbour dredging project has warned against cutting resources for environmental monitoring and compliance.
Flickr/GreensMPs
A long-awaited report on environmental failures at the biggest port along the Great Barrier Reef coastline and today’s federal budget may not seem connected – but if you read the report, it’s clear just…
The Commission of Audit, led by Tony Shepherd, has recommended radical changes to the way we do government in Australia.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The Commission of Audit’s report, released yesterday, sets out a radical blueprint for the role of government, the scope of its activities and how it goes about getting things done. For the most part there…
A 2% rise next year instead? You have my word.
Rui Vieira/PA
The government’s decision to reject the recommended 1% rise in NHS salaries has been met with “contempt” by the unions. The issue of public sector pay has become highly contentious, with each side arguing…
Lack of information and advice on climate change isn’t the problem.
Steve Easterbrook
In closing the Climate Commission, and introducing legislation to abolish the Climate Change Authority, the government has said it can instead rely on information from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology…
Is Australia’s public sector delivering the right levels of ‘bang’ in return for our ‘bucks’?
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
How efficient is Australia’s public sector? This question is difficult to answer with precision, but important to all of us. After all, this is our money being spent on us and the things we care about…
Tony Abbott’s focus on Asia early in his term in office signifies that the so-called ‘Asian century’ - and Australia’s role in it - is far from over.
EPA/Mast Irham
It is barely a decade old, but some pundits are already declaring the end of the “Asian century”. The Abbott government appeared ready to bury it after the recent archiving of the Gillard government’s…
In one of his first acts in office, prime minister Tony Abbott axed three department heads, while treasury secretary Martin Parkinson (pictured) will depart next year.
AAP/Saeed Khan
Prime minister Tony Abbott’s decision to sack three departmental secretaries within hours of his swearing-in earlier this week has not attracted the same shock John Howard’s decision to sack six secretaries…