About the author Associate Editor Stephen Easton is the associate editor at The Mandarin based in Canberra. He's previously reported for Canberra CityNews and worked on industry titles for The Intermedia Group. Follow Stephen Easton
NT government puts a long-serving southerner in charge of public sector employment Friday August 23, 2019 By Stephen Easton News The Northern Territory government has decided to install a southerner as its next Commissioner for Public Employment. Vicki Telfer, the former human resources chief of… Read more
Queensland's coordinator-general won't be in this Monday, or any other Monday Thursday August 22, 2019 By Stephen Easton Economy & Industry Queensland coordinator-general Barry Broe is suddenly leaving the role this week, after seven years in office and just a few months before his term expires… Read more
SA public servants report corruption, laziness, incompetence, bullying, nepotism and the rest Thursday August 22, 2019 By Stephen Easton Culture South Australia’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption, Bruce Lander, warns government agencies that reports of corruption and workplace misbehaviour must be tackled head-on, not swept under… Read more
Three state department heads to switch places next month Thursday August 22, 2019 By Stephen Easton News Three Tasmanian public service leaders will trade places in early September, Premier Will Hodgman has announced. Read more
Australian Statistician's role up for grabs later this year Tuesday August 20, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal David Kalisch will not be seeking another contract as head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and applications are open for the statutory role. Assistant… Read more
Coach Morrison's pep talk becomes a public spectacle Tuesday August 20, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Prime Minister Scott Morrison assumed the role of head coach yesterday in a pep talk ostensibly aimed at the Australian Public Service but which doubled… Read more
Premium Insights and analysis The tale of the bold Belgian bureaucrat: how to create preferred workplaces and a loyal workforce by rejecting old school management styles Tuesday August 20, 2019 By Stephen Easton Features Generally, social conformity is rewarded with comfortable feelings of belonging while anxiety rears up and warns us to think carefully before going too far against… Read more
WA public service union claims a win and bides its time for the next battle Monday August 19, 2019 By Stephen Easton News Western Australian public servants have overwhelmingly voted to take what they can get from the McGowan government now and bide their time before taking up… Read more
Indigenous public servants deal with 'everyday racism' and 'white supremacy' at work: academic prize winner Monday August 19, 2019 By Stephen Easton Culture The Australian Public Service is not the bastion of "fairness, inclusion, opportunity, respect and racial equality" some of its senior leaders hope or imagine it… Read more
'An offshore law firm is not a cloak of invisibility': ATO celebrates High Court tax ruling Thursday August 15, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal The High Court's ruling that the Australian Taxation Office can rely on documents leaked to journalists from secretive law firms that provide tax-haven services is… Read more
APS Commission wants to develop 'digital career pathways' but first has to define digital careers Wednesday August 14, 2019 By Stephen Easton News Do you work in digital? What does that even mean? The Australian Public Service Commission and the Digital Transformation Agency are inviting public servants to… Read more
Centrelink returns fire after latest robodebt claims: 'there is no questioning' the algorithm Wednesday August 14, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal The Department of Human Services is defending the robodebt system once again, this time from damning claims made by anonymous contractors who say they worked… Read more
Lowe stirs the pot with talk of 3% pay rises in the public sector, and that's all he wanted to do Wednesday August 14, 2019 By Stephen Easton Economy & Industry Governments were predictably unmoved by Reserve Bank governor Phillip Lowe’s view that caps on public sector pay rises are a factor in low wage growth… Read more
Frances Adamson: trust, cooperation and inclusion are fundamental to policy and delivery Tuesday August 13, 2019 By Stephen Easton Features Addressing the growing crisis of faith in democracy and public institutions is not easy but it is a key responsibility of public servants, says Department… Read more
Misuse of sensitive personal information by government agencies under the spotlight Monday August 12, 2019 By Stephen Easton News Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission is taking a close look at examples of government agencies doing the wrong thing with sensitive private information. Operation Impala… Read more
