Public servants hastily polish up the blue books as new Morrison ministry takes shape
A who's-who of the members in contention for Coalition ministerial positions in the days after the 2019 federal election. Read More
Peter Dutton
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
Labor declares ‘great respect’ for ASIO and ASIS after Paul Keating calls for a clean-out
Former prime minister Paul Keating does, and he sparked a kerfuffle last night by saying senior foreign intelligence and domestic security officers should be turfed out. He thinks they have "lost their strategic bearings" and unnecessarily soured diplomatic relations with China. Read More
Commonwealth tips millions into mental health for police and emergency workers
The Commonwealth has committed almost $5.8 million to mental health initiatives for traumatised police and emergency services personnel, over half of which comes from the proceeds of crime. Read More
Why Michael Pezzullo is not a fan of KPIs, or right-wing extremists
Department of Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo made it very clear he has no intention of setting new performance targets for processing citizenship applications, as he explained to a Senate committee why he refused to accept an auditor-general’s recommendation. Read More
Au pairs inquiry: calls for a federal ICAC, and better record-keeping at Home Affairs
The Department of Home Affairs has not escaped criticism from the opposition-dominated Senate committee that investigated its minster, Peter Dutton, while a leading public sector integrity expert agrees with the government senators that the "shambolic" inquiry was not the right way to probe the allegations. Read More
Quaedvlieg seeks his right of reply to parliamentary sledging
Any citizen or resident who gets picked on in parliament has the right to ask for their side of the story to go into Hansard, and the former Australian Border Force commissioner wants to use it. Read More
Hell hath no fury like a senior public servant scorned
The trouble Roman Quaedvlieg is causing for his former political master is testament to why it's a good idea to look after public servants you want to dump. Read More
Au pairs inquiry: Senate committee sitting on second Quaedvlieg letter
Former Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg waited to see his former colleagues respond to opposition senators looking for evidence of “the inappropriate exercise of… Read More
Solicitor General: ‘some risk’ but Dutton likely eligible to sit in parliament
Advice provided by the Solicitor General Stephen Donaghue argues that Peter Dutton is probably "not ineligible" to sit in parliament. Read More
‘So far, so good’ for Home Affairs, but ABF chief still out in cold
It is still not clear whether Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg will ever join the new department, despite a series of new facts on that issue emerging over the course of two separate hearings. Read More
Home Affairs-AGD shakeup authors address accountability concerns
Also, Michael Pezzullo's new portfolio will not be taking counter-terrorism orders from a parliamentary secretary — even though it looks that way in the proposed legislation. Read More
Government’s Manus settlement a loss for transparency and accountability
Good policy making requires transparency and accountability. The government's decision to settle negligence and false imprisonment claims out of court with Manus Island asylum seekers has prevented an opportunity to learn from our mistakes. Read More
Australian Homeland Security Department groundhog day
Proposals to create an Australian Department of Homeland Security pop up every few years. The idea comes despite Malcolm Turnbull being previously highly critical of a security super-department. Read More