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
Combating misinformation with Number 10's Alex Aiken Wednesday May 31, 2017 By Harley Dennett Features No, it's not propaganda, and yes, it is a critical government profession that enhances and saves lives. Britain's top government communicator has a message for… Read more
Underperformers get golden handshakes as managers shirk difficult conversations Wednesday May 24, 2017 By Harley Dennett News Most watchers of government might have suspected that restructures and redundancies were used to quietly get rid of the worst performers. Some have seen it… Read more
Estimates latest: Labor targets officials for attending 'political' events Tuesday May 23, 2017 By Harley Dennett News An early theme of Federal Labor senators' questions, across portfolios, has been public servants and statutory officers attending events organised by ministers and government MPs. Read more
Better analytics, better policy: first spend initiatives from APS Modernisation Fund Tuesday May 9, 2017 By Harley Dennett Editors' Picks The 2017-18 Budget will fund a new body, the Data Integration Partnership of Australia, more shared services, and enhanced capability in user experience, nudge, and… Read more
PM&C taskforce to consider Harris's data reforms Tuesday May 9, 2017 By Harley Dennett Economy & Industry The Productivity Commission chair stresses the need for political and agency leadership to build and maintain the social licence needed for comprehensive data use reform. Read more
Top local government projects recognised for innovative service delivery Monday May 1, 2017 By Harley Dennett News Innovative communities got the nod today with the reveal of 10 councils who made the shortlist for the top prize in local government innovation: the… Read more
Contractor Central rescuing NSW from temp worker cost overload Thursday April 27, 2017 By Harley Dennett News New South Wales has doubled its temp workers under the Coalition — and couldn't justify value for the extra $600m cost. Also, Margaret Crawford has… Read more
Kibblewhite: stewardship challenges for today's public service leaders Wednesday April 26, 2017 By Harley Dennett Features New Zealand's head of policy profession shared his perspective on balancing the preservation of institutions of state with the needs of ministers, staying on the… Read more
The top contenders to replace Dennis Richardson at Defence department Friday April 21, 2017 By Harley Dennett Defence Who will replace Dennis Richardson as secretary of the Department of Defence? There's a lot of contenders being discussed and some earlier aspirants dropped out… Read more
Dennis Richardson formally bows out; Sargeant steps into top Defence APS role Wednesday April 19, 2017 By Harley Dennett Defence The least surprising retirement of a top mandarin so far this year has been made official. Dennis Richardson will step down as secretary of the… Read more
How science is used to shape public policy Friday April 7, 2017 By Harley Dennett Economy & Industry Is science making a difference? Does administration get in the way of good science policy? What does evidence-based policy mean to the science bureaucrats? A… Read more
Open State expands for 2017 Friday March 31, 2017 By Harley Dennett News Why Open State? According to the pitch, the 10-day festival reinforce South Australia as a place open to new ideas, new people, new technology, and… Read more
CensusFail forgiven? Australians expect eVoting as soon as 2019 Friday March 31, 2017 By Harley Dennett Communications & Technology Australia Post has made a play for a majority slice of future digital elections in a new white paper. Despite the risks, a survey shows… Read more
Peter Harris: rules forcing data destruction 'akin to burning books' Thursday March 23, 2017 By Harley Dennett Features The Productivity Commission is in the final week of its inquiry into data availability and use. Commission chair Peter Harris says that in public policy,… Read more
Commonwealth looks to 'I work for NSW' for inspiration Thursday March 16, 2017 By Harley Dennett Features Public sector employee value propositions and recruitment channels are being overhauled all around Australia. But are they getting fresh lipstick, a mild evolution, or something… Read more
