Premium Insights and analysis Election 2022: Red and Blue books that really aren’t Editors' Picks Red Book? Blue Book? There are no such things. Incoming government briefings are printed on standard white paper with black ink. There might, perhaps, be
Trust crisis: can a big government still act local and involve citizens? November 27, 2017 By Stephen Easton Features There’s a crisis of public trust in the processes and institutions of government, part of a growing distrust of all voices that once spoke with
Accentuate the positive: take lead on performance management September 22, 2014 By Stephen Easton Features There isn’t much love in the Australian public service for the dysfunctional system that currently passes for performance management. In last year’s employee census, only
Social media: beat the journos, don't say anything stupid September 17, 2014 By Stephen Easton Features Australia’s chief technology officer says there are two easy ways for public servants to avoid the wrath of social media policies: avoid the temptation to
Statistical anomaly? Treasury's David Gruen to PM&C, not ABS September 17, 2014 By Stephen Easton News Media reports insisted Dr David Gruen would become the next chief statistician. Instead, he’s turned up in Prime Minister and Cabinet as a deputy secretary
CSIRO report: libraries, museums lagging in digitisation September 16, 2014 By David Donaldson Communications & Technology Digital innovation is lagging in Australia’s cultural public sector such as libraries and museums, according to a new CSIRO report released today. The report — An
Roger Wilkins on red tape, 'mindless proliferation of watchdogs' September 11, 2014 By David Donaldson Features The “mindless proliferation of watchdogs and reporting” in government is gumming up the system, according to the outgoing Attorney-General’s Department secretary Roger Wilkins. In an exit
Perfectionist public sector leaders struggle to measure economic impact September 11, 2014 By Stephen Easton News Australia’s public sector needs to improve its ability to measure the economic value of its work in the wider economy, a recent survey of senior
Spectral vision: tuning into Turnbull's review frequency September 10, 2014 By Stephen Easton News Australia must embrace the innovation offered by an all digital spectrum world, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull said today, as bureaucrats and the smartest digital minds
The strong case for randomised trials in policy development September 10, 2014 By David Donaldson Editors' Picks Employing randomised trials to drive policymaking is gaining traction overseas. Labor’s Andrew Leigh makes the case for Australia — and calls for more innovation in
Chief scientist: future depends on science, IT, engineering, maths September 2, 2014 By Stephen Easton News It’s time Australia took science more seriously to secure the country’s future, remain internationally competitive and play a part in global affairs, according to the nation’s chief
New chief economist at Communications to lay out facts September 1, 2014 By Stephen Easton News Telecommunications and media consultant Dr Paul Paterson has been appointed to the newly created role of chief economist at the Department of Communications. He will
Aged care report: data on Transition Care outcomes for older patients August 29, 2014 By The Mandarin Health The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s latest aged care report examines detailed data on the Department of Health’s Transition Care Program. In a statement
Cutting with care: after the spill, Comms Dept lives up to name August 28, 2014 By Stephen Easton Features The Department of Communications has shed about a quarter of its workforce as part of a major restructure. But only 11 were forced redundancies —
