About the author Editor Harley Dennett is editor at The Mandarin based in Canberra. He's held communications roles in the New South Wales public sector and Defence, and been a staff reporter for newspapers in Sydney and Washington DC. Follow Harley Dennett
The end of an era as four Commonwealth departments cease to exist and new Secretaries Board forms Monday February 3, 2020 By Harley Dennett Federal At the conclusion of any machinery of government change, historians and Wikipedia editors alike will debate whether each affected department of state ceases to exist… Read more
Australia’s ‘secret prisoner’ denounces lack of mental health assistance from his government employer Wednesday November 20, 2019 By Harley Dennett Australian Capital Territory Post traumatic stress, or sharing state secrets? An account claiming to be Witness J comes forward in a series of tweets that will deeply concern… Read more
Women reach more leadership roles in Defence Thursday November 7, 2019 By Harley Dennett Defence Air Force Warrant Officer Fiona Grasby OAM and Navy Warrant Officer Deb Butterworth OAM both ascend to the Australian Defence Force's most senior role for… Read more
Catherine Roberts makes history as engineers fly high in Air Force Friday September 27, 2019 By Harley Dennett Defence The first engineer entrusted with the big-picture design of Air Force’s future is focussed on smart people, smart tech. Air Vice-Marshal Cath Roberts is the… Read more
Premium Expert briefings The media loves a good bureaucrat beat-up. Don’t be a victim: these are the mistakes public servants make with journalists Tuesday September 10, 2019 By Harley Dennett Engagement When the clock is ticking towards a publication deadline you need to ask yourself: is my department undertaking the most valuable effort it can in… Read more
Utopia returns to skewer real life bureaucratic misadventures and terminological inexactitude Thursday August 22, 2019 By Harley Dennett Economy & Industry The real life misadventures of Dr Karl, the Panama Papers, and the East West Link have inspired new storylines in the latest season of ABC's… Read more
Premium Insights and analysis Ethical AI and government: how guiding machine learning projects with principles will help prevent tech solutions turning into unintended problems Wednesday August 14, 2019 By Harley Dennett Features Artificial intelligence is already being used in unethical ways, both by the world's governments and technology giants. Now is the time to nail down the… Read more
Phil Gaetjens ‘was never doing politics’ in my office: Costello Thursday August 8, 2019 By Harley Dennett Federal The inbound secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet was always a public servant, even when working as the Treasurer's chief of… Read more
Greg Moriarty: contractor vulnerabilities need more than just cyber security arrangements, export controls Friday August 2, 2019 By Harley Dennett Defence After a string of Defence industry data breaches, senior public servant Greg Moriarty has opened up about government's current thinking on the vulnerabilities to Australia's… Read more
Premium Trends and research They break the rules, disrupt norms, can’t promise ROI. Why risk an innovation project? Here’s how to know when you’ve added value Saturday July 13, 2019 By Harley Dennett Features THE HORIZON is a curated guide to published research, books, reports and podcasts with utility for practitioners in the public sector. With Australia’s public sector… Read more
Premium Trends and research Toxic leaders and how to get over them once they’re gone … innovation labs and design thinking … making services that work for people … Tuesday July 2, 2019 By Harley Dennett News How organisations manage the aftermath of toxic leadership. Public sector innovation: the rise of innovation labs and design thinking; embedding open innovation. Making services that… Read more
Premium Trends and research How citizens value their own data … why Facebook gets away with privacy controls … the value of enterprise architecture … where power lies … Monday June 24, 2019 By Harley Dennett News THE HORIZON is a curated guide to the latest published research, books, reports, podcasts and upcoming events with utility for practitioners in the… Read more
ICAC referral considered for privacy leak linked to minister’s office staff Tuesday May 28, 2019 By Harley Dennett New South Wales New South Wales Police look set to refer a public data leak to the Independent Commission Against Corruption following an investigation that draws further attention… Read more
Second Morrison Ministry suggests substantial machinery of government changes Sunday May 26, 2019 By Harley Dennett Federal Agriculture, Communications, Environment, Human Services, Indigenous Affairs and Social Services will have new ministers. Full list for the Second Morrison Ministry and machinery of government… Read more
Record number of government bodies in Sydney’s 41st Mardi Gras Monday March 4, 2019 By Harley Dennett News New South Wales government bodies turned out in record numbers for the 2019 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. Read more
