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
Political turbulence: tips for the enduring public servant Wednesday May 16, 2018 By Harley Dennett Editors' Picks Simon Lewis, the departing Commonwealth secretary who had six ministers in five years, says don't blame ministerial staffers for not knowing their role. Read more
Budget 2018 rated: what attracted the punters, and how they felt about it Thursday May 10, 2018 By Harley Dennett News Tax cuts, health care, education and infrastructure were the dominant topics for news media articles, while on social media only one topic captured Australians' attention… Read more
Federal Budget 2018: a smarter, more productive public service Tuesday May 8, 2018 By Harley Dennett News The transformation of the public sector continues in Finance Minister Mathias Cormann's 5th year in charge of agency resourcing with a focus on a smarter,… Read more
They're everywhere! LGBTI leaders standing proud in the public sector Tuesday May 8, 2018 By Harley Dennett Features From the first openly gay departmental secretary in the Australian Public Service, to leaders in local government, statutory authorities, state police and the Australian Defence… Read more
Trump's 'Buy American' will save taxpayers around $75m a year — but won't make govt happy Monday April 30, 2018 By Harley Dennett Defence The new White House policy was initially criticised for its 'emptiness'. But the Australian government will soon know just how damaging it will be to… Read more
Victoria signs $261m deal to upgrade and extend radio network for emergency services Tuesday April 24, 2018 By Harley Dennett Communications & Technology Public safety agencies including Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade will have their radio network upgraded with new data, location and safety… Read more
US vs EU: antitrust, data, and privacy policy Monday April 23, 2018 By Harley Dennett Economy & Industry Is EU consumer law protections the real champion for the public in smaller nations like Australia? And should United States law be discounted entirely? Catch… Read more
Halton's new firm steps up amid concerns of government's IT skills shortfall Tuesday April 17, 2018 By Harley Dennett Editors' Picks When two of government's heaviest hitters -- Jane Halton and Dennis Richardson -- left their plum mandarin gigs and almost immediately joined the board of… Read more
Not receiving our newsletter? We can fix that Thursday April 12, 2018 By Harley Dennett News We want you to sample our best content online but will eventually ask you to register some details so we can send you our daily… Read more
Seven myths about flexible working and how to debunk them Thursday April 12, 2018 By Harley Dennett Features How do you challenge colleagues who say flexible working won't work in your organisation? Arm yourself with these rebuttals from Diversity Council Australia. Read more
PM&C's efforts didn't really halt ABC's 'The Cabinet Files' stories after all Wednesday April 11, 2018 By Harley Dennett News Alan Sunderland, ABC's editorial director, was dismissive of the great and powerful Senate under questioning at the estimates hearing, telling Senator Kristina Keneally that "with… Read more
ASD certifies first 'hyperscale' data service for Protected classification Tuesday April 3, 2018 By Harley Dennett Communications & Technology Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Minister Angus Taylor wants quicker roll-out of public services to enable government to adapt faster. He says moving to the… Read more
What really bothers your secretary Friday March 23, 2018 By Harley Dennett Features Public service chiefs answer what is their greatest leadership challenge, and how to build a coalition for change. Read more
Why do 98% of APS stay in the same organisation? Secretaries want to find out Friday March 23, 2018 By Harley Dennett Features Why move organisations? Australian Public Service senior leaders offered their reasons. Read more
Collaborate with GovTEAMS: Govdex 2.0 gets a new name and release date Monday March 19, 2018 By Harley Dennett News The Australian government's cross-agency, cross-tier, cross-jurisdiction collaboration platform will be called GovTEAMS when it relaunches in August. Read more
