The public service should provide training to new members of parliament, ministers and their staff, in the view of senior Commonwealth secretary Martin Parkinson. He also thinks his colleagues should put the spotlight on the cost of restructuring. Read More
Transition from opposition to government can be hard on ministers who aren't used to seeing the public service as on their side. Now they need those agencies if they want to stay a minister. Read More
Distrust between government and citizens goes both ways, but deliberative democracy offers opportunities in this age of individualism. The convenors of SA's citizens' juries consider how government can recover the trust of citizens. Read More
FEATURE: Public trust in government has declined in recent years, but how can public servants help? Experts discuss how public servants can play an important role in reconnecting with the electorate. Read More
Were the Labor years of Hawke and Keating good for the public service? That's been in dispute, with a senior minister of the time insisting mandarins weren't subordinate to the government. Read More
Gough Whitlam created them. Malcolm Fraser cemented them. And the move to new Parliament House multiplied them — exponentially ever since. Charting the rise and rise of the ministerial minder. Read More
While politicians get "captain's picks" in selecting departmental heads, is the role of the Australian public service to provide impartial advice being undermined? The lack of safeguards is an ongoing concern. Read More
What should bureaucrats do when their masters in government change? Elections are tricky times. Understand the authorising environment has fundamentally shifted, says our expert. Read More
Your minister has a choice: the in-flight magazine or your policy brief. How do you get read? Make life easy for them in how you present the information. Read More
