Department of Defence charged with WHS breaches, faces up to $4.5m in fines
The Department of Defence faces three charges of breaching the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act over the death of soldier Jason Challis during a… Read More
Jurisdiction
Lawyers, guns, money – and politics, part 3
The third article in a three-part series on the formulation of Australia’s firearms policy; the power of pro-gun interests has the potential to pervert our political conversation the way it has done in the US. In Australia, cool heads must prevail. Read More
Former secretary: ‘persuasion and trust’ the keys to ‘complex’ role of leading a department
The most useful tools for senior public servants are “persuasion and trust” in the view of former Commonwealth secretary Gordon de Brouwer, who sits on… Read More
What key quality should Australia’s next PM have?
There are many characteristics of political leadership – strength, courage, wisdom, vision, judgment, responsiveness. All are elusive, difficult to describe in the abstract, and turn on the historical and social context in which leadership is exercised. So, how should some of these characteristics be demonstrated in contemporary Australia? Read More
Economic dark clouds gather but the budget is sunny
Things were rather gloomy at Wednesday's meeting of the Melbourne Economic Forum, and it wasn't due to the wintery weather that had finally arrived. Read More
NZ introduces groundbreaking zero carbon bill, including targets for agricultural methane
New Zealand’s long-awaited zero carbon bill will create sweeping changes to the management of emissions, setting a global benchmark with ambitious reduction targets for all major greenhouse gases. Read More
New government should put Phil Lowe on the hook for inflation
Regardless of who wins the election, the incoming government should avoid repeating the mistake of allowing the Reserve Bank to formulate a monetary policy statement in a way that downgrades the inflation target. Read More
Australia must move on from its outdated environment laws
Should Labor win, it will have little time to waste on developing environmental policies that are fit-for-purpose for 21st Century reality. Read More
Resignation: NT public sector commissioner Craig Allen decides ‘it’s time to move on’
The Northern Territory Commissioner for Public Employment, Craig Allen, has tendered his resignation and will join the Queensland Office of Industrial Relations as a deputy… Read More
Mike Mrdak: public servants must ditch the business jargon, stop being scared of citizens
Government agencies need to be more open, honest and direct with the public, come to terms with social media and realise that working with people… Read More
One in five business owners don’t know who Bill Shorten is
Is small business out of touch with politics? A new survey of Australian small-business owners by accounting software provider Xero has found, despite being in the middle of a fiery election campaign, 15% of SME owners don’t know who the Prime Minister is. Read More
Energy costs are preventing landlords from approving businesses to go solar
Recent research commissioned by the Council of Small Businesses of Australia found landlords remain one of the biggest roadblocks preventing businesses from going renewable. Read More
More former mandarins put the squeeze on the Thodey review
Two former public service commissioners walk into a bar. Well, not a bar, but a Canberra restaurant. There, a number of distinguished former mandarins and other assorted lunch companions unanimously delegate them to respond to the Thodey review’s interim report... The latest from Verona Burgess. Read More
NSW amalgamations: councils have ‘largely achieved’ milestones
Council amalgamations in New South Wales are largely going to plan, according to a recent report by NSW Auditor General Margaret Crawford. Read More
Qld public service finds new recruits among veterans, sheds staff in health and education
The Queensland government is recruiting ex-military personnel to public service jobs twice as quickly as planned, while its total workforce remained the same size over the final quarter of 2018. Read More