Cormann Australia’s pick for top OECD job Economy & Industry Finance minister Mathias Cormann is Australia's candidate for secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Read more
Senate Select Committee established to review government’s COVID-19 response Thursday April 9, 2020 By Shannon Jenkins Federal The Select Committee on COVID-19 will have broad terms of reference to allow for a thorough probe of the government's response to the pandemic, and… Read more
Coronavirus prompts changes to hearings, access at Parliament House Tuesday March 17, 2020 By Shannon Jenkins Federal Access to Canberra’s Parliament House will be temporarily restricted in a bid to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus. Speaker of the House of Representatives… Read more
Senate push to release Gaetjens report loses 35-36 Thursday February 13, 2020 By Shannon Jenkins Federal A Senate committee into the sports rorts will begin on Thursday with evidence from the national auditor-general Grant Hehir. Gaetjens will also be called. Read more
Senate: show us the robodebt legal advice Thursday November 28, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal The Community and Public Sector Union says the government has been ignoring the concerns of Centrelink staff about the robodebt system for years, while the… Read more
NDIS chief deletes Twitter account, defends past activity: ‘I am not an anti-union Trump supporter’ Tuesday November 12, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal "I am not an anti-union Trump supporter," declared National Disability Insurance Agency chief executive Martin Hoffman last night, after his past social media use came… Read more
Unexpected election result means public servants know what to expect Monday May 20, 2019 By Stephen Easton Federal After an unexpected result in Saturday's federal election, members of the Australian Public Service have a good idea of what to expect going forward. Read more
Odd logic: why the Morrison government won't mandate Essential Eight cyber controls Wednesday April 17, 2019 By Stephen Easton Communications & Technology In an unusual piece of logic, the federal government says it will not mandate the Australian Signals Directorate’s Essential Eight information security controls for all… Read more
Electoral commissioner: agency made the best of a tricky situation Wednesday January 24, 2018 By Stephen Easton Case studies The Australian Electoral Commissioner has stood up for the public service agency that supports him, and suggests the Australian National Audit Office should have taken… Read more
Three good old dust-ups from the first day of estimates Tuesday October 24, 2017 By Stephen Easton News As usual there were plenty of dust-ups between the Dorothy Dixers on the first day of the Senate's supplementary estimates hearings yesterday. Here's a run-down… Read more
Like it or lump it, Barnaby tells staff: 'you're a servant of the people' Wednesday March 1, 2017 By Stephen Easton News The ill-advised relocation of the APVMA to Armidale stars in Estimates once again, and it's just as difficult to get specialist staff to move from… Read more
Auditor-general won't look at Centrelink debt recovery Wednesday January 18, 2017 By Stephen Easton News Auditor-general Grant Hehir has decided not to look into Centrelink's debt recovery efforts, as requested by shadow minister Linda Burney. He'll wait and see what… Read more
Turnbull's bombshell: budget moved, double dissolution date set Monday March 21, 2016 By The Mandarin News BREAKING: The federal government has brought forward its budget to May 3 and flagged a double dissolution for July if union bills aren't passed. Read more
SES on sick leave accused of 'snowballing' Senate committee Monday February 8, 2016 By Stephen Easton News The chair of a Senate committee has accused a senior executive from the Department of Parliamentary Services of providing "deliberately misleading" answers to questions in… Read more
How the Senate cut 40% off its workers' comp premium Wednesday May 27, 2015 By Stephen Easton News The Senate's clerk Rosemary Laing is too modest. A 40% drop in her department's workers' compensation premium is down to an "excellent performance" and not… Read more
