Lowy Institute: Lack of women in Australia’s international relations sector harms national interest Defence Australia’s intelligence community “lags” behind the broader public sector when it comes to gender balance, according to a new report. The scathing review from the
What key quality should Australia’s next PM have? May 9, 2019 By Jayani Nadarajalingam Career Advice There are many characteristics of political leadership – strength, courage, wisdom, vision, judgment, responsiveness. All are elusive, difficult to describe in the abstract, and turn
Which agencies got a break from Senate estimates hearings? April 11, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal With the beginning of caretaker period comes the end of Senate estimates, and non-government politicians were soon crying foul over their missed opportunities to quiz
Legislature vs executive: auditor-general's independence trumped by budget secrecy May 30, 2018 By Stephen Easton Features This year, budget secrecy trumped the independence of Commonwealth auditor-general Grant Hehir, and the deputy chair of the parliamentary committee that backs him up is
Lloyd makes calls on free speech and union-bargaining policies February 28, 2018 By Stephen Easton News The Australian Public Service Commissioner has provided a new practical example of how the rules on public commentary operate: if a member of parliament mentions
Cracks form in the convention of cabinet confidentiality, PM&C gets the glue February 1, 2018 By Stephen Easton News What a week. The age-old doctrine of cabinet confidentiality that shrouds the process of government decision making has taken serious damage, due to what looks
Why public sector corporations need an independent watchdog February 22, 2016 By Stephen Easton Career Advice After a lunchtime lecture on public sector reform at Parliament House last year, Finance Department secretary Jane Halton side-stepped a question from an audience member
And the next sex discrimination commissioner is ... February 9, 2016 By David Donaldson Career Advice Senates Estimates revealed some interesting information and seen a few testy exchanges on its first couple of days back for 2016. Sex discrimination commissioner to be announced
Government-less arbitration: why trade officials like ISDS November 11, 2015 By David Donaldson Features The negatives of investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms in free trade agreements have long been canvassed: they restrict the ability of governments to regulate on social
