Construction commissioner shows you can’t rely on the minister’s best laid plans

An embarrassing civil case against Australian Building and Construction Commissioner Nigel Hadgkiss shows that public servants must always go by what the law says, even when the minister is absolutely adamant that it will soon change. Governments will quite often announce their plans with complete confidence, as though they are a foregone conclusion, right up until they are blocked by a hostile upper house (except of course in Queensland and the two territories, whose unicameral parliaments are more predictable). Read More