'Thanks for your service, liars': did Dan Andrews go too far? Jurisdiction The brutal dismissal of the CEO and chairman of WorkSafe in Victoria over a water contamination scare left some breathless. Did the Premier go too…
Bean-counters to strategists: why CFOs need more power Monday March 2, 2015 By Harley Dennett Features Increasingly, public sector number-crunchers are being asked to play a bigger role in driving agency productivity and reform. But are agencies supporting CFOs well enough…
Australian public service knowhow for PNG governance Monday February 16, 2015 By The Mandarin Jurisdiction Australia continues to expand its efforts to build good governance in Papua New Guinea with a new training initiative for public servants. It adds to…
Government tickles funny bones to promote cyber security Friday February 6, 2015 By David Donaldson Features A new cyber security awareness campaign may have attracted the scorn of Twitter, but the agency responsible wants to build engagement on new platforms while…
Andrew Mills: Tax Office improving dispute resolution process Wednesday January 21, 2015 By Andrew Mills Features The Tax Office hasn't always gotten its dispute resolution process right in the past, the ATO's second commissioner admits -- but they're working on reaching…
'A safe environment to fail': when secretaries go to school Friday January 16, 2015 By Harley Dennett Features What happens when departmental secretaries go back to school? The Victorian Leadership Development Centre has pioneered on-the-job training for our top mandarins in Australia.
Budget axe: the small government agencies abolished by Abbott Monday December 15, 2014 By Harley Dennett Jurisdiction Merged, consolidated and abolished: the government will work through a "methodical" process of slashing some 175 agencies from the Commonwealth ranks. Read the full list.
'We wanted to change China with FTA': former ambassador Tuesday November 11, 2014 By David Donaldson Jurisdiction EXCLUSIVE: The China FTA only achieved lift-off under the Abbott government's more "defensive" approach in talks, a former Chinese ambassador reveals to The Mandarin.
Disclose infrastructure contracts earlier, former min agrees Friday November 7, 2014 By David Donaldson Jurisdiction Disclosing infrastructure contracts more often and earlier would be welcome, says a former state minister. Too often governments hide behind commercial-in-confidence provisions.
Charter school 'myths and beliefs': US-style inequality? Monday November 3, 2014 By David Donaldson Features Charter schools exacerbate inequality and threaten public education, claims one educator. The evidence on student performance, according to experts, appears mixed.
GP payments to identify dementia: would it work here? Friday October 31, 2014 By David Donaldson Features In Britain, they're paying doctors to make dementia diagnoses. So would it work in Australia? Early diagnosis is important, but there's other factors at play.
Harm minimisation in gambling? There's little evidence it works Thursday October 23, 2014 By David Donaldson Community & Social There's a lack of evidence for Australia's current approach to regulating program gambling, a new paper by ANZSOG says. Harm minimisation needs more research work.
Gary Banks: the reform ended when the politics got ugly Tuesday October 7, 2014 By Gary Banks Features What happened to the days of reform? The media, the spin cycle and governments that abandoned good policymaking process, the former Productivity Commission head argues.
David Albury’s lessons in better outcomes for lower costs Friday October 3, 2014 By Harley Dennett Features The writer of the UK government's pioneering report on innovation is back in Australia to work with agency leaders to foster a culture of innovation.
Geoff Gallop: public sector education and the art of strategy Thursday September 18, 2014 By Geoff Gallop Features The business of government and the role of public servants is changing -- the educational pathways for bureaucrats need to change with it. The art…
