How Australia can regain centre stage on education
Mitchell Institute international adviser Professor Bill Lucas offers some counsel over Gonski reform proposals, drawing inspiration from the Melbourne Declaration as a think bank. Read More
New Zealand
Australia stays in top 10 in global democracy index
The newest results, released yesterday, show New Zealand (4th place) is still ahead of Australia (8th place), but Asia-Pacific as a whole is the worst performing region. Read More
The public service warms to renewal
Public trust in government is cooling, surveys show. Senior public servants are watching this and planning how to rejuvenate their organisations to engage with public persuasion, to see through their customers' eyes, and broaden the axis of trust and policy learning. Read More
Can flexible work hurt your health?
It allows many public servants to juggle family or study commitments while working, but is there a downside to flexible work? Read More
How can agencies promote ‘information confidence’?
It’s widely accepted that better decisions and evaluations in government are underpinned by evidence that harnesses multiple sources of data and information. The challenge public sector leaders now face is how to share and reuse government information assets for public value, and still maintain public trust. Read More
Get ready for more disruption: Parkinson floats national citizen survey
A case can be made for the APS to conduct a regular, non-partisan citizens’ survey, says the APS head. A risky endeavour, he acknowledges, but the need to bring the APS and the community closer together is worth the discomfort. Read More
Democratising Indigenous data
University of Melbourne professor Ian Anderson, the deputy secretary for Indigenous policy in the Prime Minister's department, delivers the 2017 Menzies Oration. Read More
Earning public trust: Sir John Key goes back to Westminster basics
Sir John Key says public servants and ministers alike need to respect Westminster traditions -- leaks weaken "the bonds of trust and respect" between the two -- and go back to the basics of building support for a political agenda, to earn public trust. Read More
7 lessons from the ANZSOG case library
If your job involved poring over the best and the worst of government, you'd probably pick up a few things. ANZSOG's Marinella Padula has done just that and identified the top lessons for program leadership, design and evaluation. Read More
China is using its economy as a weapon, and Australia should be worried
China has shown it is willing to use its economic clout to pursue strategic interests. Its behaviour is already pushing neighbours to minimise their reliance on the sometimes belligerent state. What if Australia's relations with the new superpower turn sour? Read More
Australia vulnerable to cyber attack and economic blackmail, report argues
Australia faces "almost insurmountable" challenges in protecting itself against cyber attack and is underestimating China's capacity to use money to get what it wants, argues a CEDA report. Read More
Australia’s species need an independent champion
The role of the Threatened Species Commissioner needs to be broadened and strengthened to protect Australia's environment from degradation and species loss. Read More
Governments begin to see the risk of data sharing, now to explain the benefits
A new data de-identification decision-making guide has been released to help public servants and others navigate this area. But there is still more work to be done on engagement, says Peter Leonard, a leading expert on the legal side of data use and privacy. Read More
New cross-disciplinary unit to track potential terrorists and intervene early
Victoria will establish a new cross-disciplinary office to track people at risk of carrying out terrorist attacks and intervene early. Read More
Expert panel to cast an eye over incoming federal whistleblowers legislation
The Turnbull government has quickly convened an advisory panel to make good on its commitment to strengthen protections for whistleblowers and create safer pathways for… Read More