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
Public sector industrial briefs: Hodgman pulls the plug, McGowan sweetens the deal Thursday June 27, 2019 By Stephen Easton News Tasmania's opposition has called for clarity around where state service job cuts will fall, while WA's austerity-focused government faces accusations of unfairness. Read more
Towards a professional approach to public policy: reforming people instead of structure and process Wednesday June 26, 2019 By Stephen Easton Features The importance of thinking about how implementation is going to work when designing policy is well recognised but remains a challenge, said Sir Chris Wormald… Read more
Top New South Wales public servant picked to lead New Zealand Treasury Tuesday June 25, 2019 By Stephen Easton Economy & Industry Senior New South Wales public servant Dr Caralee McLiesh has been appointed as the next Secretary to Te Tai Ōhanga, the Treasury of New Zealand,… Read more
NSW public sector long-service leave cuts blocked in parliament Tuesday June 25, 2019 By Stephen Easton New South Wales The New South Wales government's attempt to cut back long-service leave entitlements for new public sector recruits was quickly blocked by the state's upper house… Read more
'Tough but fair' accounting and tax policy leader Michael Andrew has passed away Tuesday June 25, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has paid tribute to Michael Andrew, who stepped back from his role with KPMG in February 2017 due to a serious illness… Read more
Red tape crackdown renewed: Morrison prefers ‘animal spirits’ to endangered animals Monday June 24, 2019 By Stephen Easton Economy & Industry Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reinforced his intention to remove “regulatory and bureaucratic barriers” that increase costs for companies, closely guided by common complaints about… Read more
Attorney-general open to reforming 'obtuse' federal whistleblower protection law Monday June 24, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Attorney-general Christian Porter is reportedly open to reforming federal whistleblower-protection legislation to sharpen up the blurry line between legitimate and unauthorised disclosures of information from… Read more
Premium Case studies Australia's top librarian tells how the National Library fosters a culture of in-house innovation. In two words: 'radical incrementalism' Monday June 24, 2019 By Stephen Easton Editors' Picks Marie-Louise Ayres, director-general of the National Library of Australia, is the nation’s top librarian. She talks to Stephen Easton about the culture of innovation that… Read more
When positive spin met 'messy' reality: how the health chief explained leaked recording Friday June 21, 2019 By Stephen Easton Communications & Technology A recently leaked recording captured Queensland Health director-general Michael Walsh candidly discussing why public servants find it hard to be so candid in public. Read more
APS secretaries unveil online collaboration hub in push to improve policy skills Friday June 21, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Heads of Australian Public Service departments have launched the beta version of a new collaboration website as a "hub" for their staff to collectively improve… Read more
Home Affairs deputy secretary to lead Australian Cyber Security Centre Thursday June 20, 2019 By Stephen Easton Communications & Technology Senior Home Affairs executive Rachel Noble has been appointed to lead the Australian Cyber Security Centre, following the departure of Alastair MacGibbon at the end… Read more
Award-winning innovation: Fleet Manager of the Year saves lives, $1m a year Monday May 27, 2019 By Stephen Easton New South Wales If thinking about the exciting world of fleet management doesn’t curl your toes, maybe a million dollars for the whole state will. That’s how much… Read more
NSW student wellbeing surveys going well, Mark Scott assures auditor-general Monday May 27, 2019 By Stephen Easton Education The New South Wales Department of Education has told the auditor-general it will be able to report on its efforts to improve student wellbeing in… Read more
Victoria opens up catalogue of government APIs, following lead of NSW Friday May 24, 2019 By Stephen Easton Communications & Technology The Victorian government has begun a public catalogue of application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow software developers to more easily build third-party apps that pull… Read more
Re-elected Prime Minister's public message to department heads Thursday May 23, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal Prime Minister Scott Morrison brought department heads out in front of the media cameras on Thursday and told them not to get in the way… Read more
