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
Premium Case studies A case study in creative funding arrangements: how the Indigenous Advancement Strategy grant program can be used to hand out money in a needlessly convoluted and opaque way Wednesday January 15, 2020 By Stephen Easton Case studies The federal government sensibly linked its ambitions to boost economic development in northern Australia with its Indigenous affairs policies, but a lot of the details… Read more
What’s in MYEFO for the public service? A boost for the ABS amid continued cuts Wednesday December 18, 2019 By Stephen Easton Careers The Australian Bureau of Statistics will receive an additional $40.4 million next financial year, according to the federal government's budget update, which also indicates staffing… Read more
Who wants to be the next Australian Space Agency boss? Wednesday December 18, 2019 By Stephen Easton Careers The Australian government is looking for a "visionary space leader" to take over from the inaugural head of its new Space Agency, Dr Megan Clark,… Read more
Statistics New Zealand to start the new year with a new chief Tuesday December 17, 2019 By Stephen Easton Community & Social The New Zealand government has chosen senior public servant Mark Sowden to take over the post of Government Statistician from Liz MacPherson, who announced she… Read more
End of year Infrastructure appointments: CEOs for NAIF and Faster Trains Agency Tuesday December 17, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal The federal government has revealed former Queensland coordinator-general Barry Broe as head of the National Faster Rail Agency, five months after establishing it, and announced… Read more
End of year resignations: Parliamentary Budget Officer and APVMA chief Monday December 16, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal The federal Parliamentary Budget Officer, Jenny Wilkinson, and the head of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Chris Parker, have both announced their resignations. Read more
ICAC finds City of Playford on the right track, still at risk of corruption, misconduct or maladministration Wednesday December 11, 2019 By Stephen Easton News Deputy Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Michael Riches found weaknesses in the City of Playford's record-keeping, and gaps between policy and practice that leave the council… Read more
E-health chief Tim Kelsey calls it a day, following COO’s resignation Tuesday December 10, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Australian Digital Health Agency chief executive Tim Kelsey has handed in his resignation. Kelsey will take his leave from the post on January 17 after… Read more
Secretary contradicts PM over Thodey review while APS braces for more MoG changes Tuesday December 10, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal A federal department secretary has contradicted Prime Minister Scott Morrison's claim that his dramatic and decisive changes to Australian Public Service are "consistent entirely with… Read more
Premium Interviews Federal public servants will soon have a ‘responsibility to share’ data for public benefit, but they need to lean on the experts and be careful not to overreach Tuesday December 10, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal After a long period of consultation around upcoming federal data-sharing and release reforms, questions about consent and commercial use remain the most controversial. While a… Read more
PM&C suddenly downgrades Scott Morrison’s brand new ‘Priorities and Delivery Unit’ Monday December 9, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet only recently established a brand new team, as part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's efforts to put… Read more
The Facebook of government: watch the ‘vision’ of what Services Australia will deliver Friday December 6, 2019 By Stephen Easton Communications & Technology The Digital Transformation Agency has finally published a flashy promotional video showing the government's "vision" of Services Australia, a week after Minister for Government Services Stuart… Read more
What is the Department of Agriculture’s role in the Murray-Darling? Not even Mick Keelty knows Friday December 6, 2019 By Stephen Easton Economy & Industry The Inspector-General of Murray-Darling Basin Water Resources, Mick Keelty, has delivered a withering assessment of the Department of Agriculture's role in the water-sharing agreement, suggesting… Read more
Four departments and five secretaries cut while one returns, as PM reshapes the public service Thursday December 5, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Prime Minister Scott Morrison has unveiled a massive Australian Public Service shake-up, which will see five secretaries out of their jobs, after a morning of… Read more
Multiple APS secretaries tipped to get the sack in Morrison’s massive MoG changes Thursday December 5, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Prime Minister Scott Morrison plans a major restructure of the Australian Public Service, which may see multiple secretaries lose their jobs, according to news reports… Read more
