![Are you Australia's next top talent? Well, Home Affairs is looking for you. Pictures by Sitthixay Ditthavong, Shutterstock Are you Australia's next top talent? Well, Home Affairs is looking for you. Pictures by Sitthixay Ditthavong, Shutterstock](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/106459643/6724d815-a7a0-4698-9cc6-f403f69f01c6.jpg/r190_0_2123_1085_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
An independent review into the migration system has landed and its conclusion is pretty simple - the whole thing is borked.
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Like any good review, it points to a series of deficiencies in the system and warns we're losing out on a top talent to other countries who've fixed up their systems before us.
But don't fear, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has a plan to make Australia a souped-up sports car in this global talent race.
And one of those plans will mean the creation of a team within the Home Affairs department to scour the ends of the Earth and convince people to work in the lucky country.
Ms O'Neil declared in her National Press Club speech last Thursday the team will "go out into the world and find the migrants Australia needs, and talk to them about joining us on our national journey".
We asked the minister's office what this team will actually look like once it's up and running.
Will ground zero be a group of bureaucrats hunched over computer screens in Barton or Belconnen, browsing through LinkedIn profiles?
Or will it be a team of high-performing, fast-travelling jet-setters spending one night in Tokyo and the next in Mumbai?
Sadly, the spinners say it is too early to say.
But for now, they've got to tend to their first challenge - just who will scout the top scouters?
'Scenario planning' and 'balancing' an internal bicker
Sadly, for this weekly column, many public service dramas play out behind the iron curtain of Australian federal bureaucracy. But every now and then we get some hot tea to sip on.
Human Rights Commission president Rosalind Croucher in February launched a proposed model to enshrine human rights in law.
But documents released to The Canberra Times after a freedom of information request show the model's release stirred drama behind the scenes.
Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay, who was controversially appointed under the former government, did not fully endorse the position, prompting intervention from the internal media team.
![Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay. Picture by Keegan Carroll Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/106459643/d667b251-3c08-4b17-b4fa-4a6f6bf4352f.jpg/r0_422_5000_3244_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A week before the launch, Professor Croucher and Ms Finlay met along with a senior policy executive, and the commission's strategic communications director Tracey Young. No meeting minutes were taken.
Ms Young followed up the meeting with an email to the commissioner, asking her to draft up her stance to find the "common ground" and "scenario plan" for the differing views.
"It will be really helpful for me and the comms [communications] team to see your position written up and help us understand where the major points of difference are and where the common ground is," Ms Young wrote.
"As we don't know how this will play out, I think we will need to be open as to whether we need to use it as an op-ed, adapt it for key messages or written responses to a media enquiry."
The media team also prepared Professor Croucher's response "in the event there are any questions either at the launch or in the aftermath" about the differing views.
It's not the first time Ms Finlay has voiced opposition to her colleagues' stances.
Weeks after the model's release in March, Ms Finlay wrote the Indigenous Voice to Parliament "inserted race" into the constitution and was at odds with human rights principles in an opinion piece.
Five ex-commissioners condemned the comments as being "a serious error" and "likely to mislead Australians".
Professor Croucher told The Guardian while she did not agree with Ms Finlay's comments, she was entitled to her opinion.
State of the (kitchen) service
In this edition of Public Eye, we're taking you inside public service kitchens, and it's dire.
Public servants across Canberra are toiling away in offices without toasters, plates or cutlery.
One Department of Defence kitchen-user said facilities across Brindabella Business Park and Russell were sparse. With no milk provided by the department, bureaucrats who dare to purchase their own are doing so at their own risk.
"People steal milk," the kitchen-user said. "Sometimes I steal milk," they admitted.
Things are a bit brighter over at the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Kitchens in the department's Barton office feature good lighting and adequate fridge space, a source said.
Though no milk or coffee is provided, there is cutlery available. No toaster is provided, but a sandwich press is available.
Will the Albanese government's reforms extend to funding forks for public servants?
An IT urban legend
A (presumably) spooked public servant took to r/Canberra a few weeks back to test a public service urban legend. The nervous redditor asked whether executive level managers were able to request web reports of their staff's browsing habits.
We took a quick poll of most of the departments (three of them never responded) and received a resounding "no".
Agencies have acceptable use policies for internet browsing, as any workplace would, but your manager isn't snooping on your Google searches.
"A manager is not able to request to receive a report of their staff's internet browsing habits," a Department of Health spokesperson said, for example.
"If they suspect the ICT Acceptable Use Policy is not being adhered to, they can raise the matter for investigation."
Fair enough.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
Australia's defence force is being drastically reshaped and that means the hunt for more personnel is coming into even sharper focus.
But while the focus has been on getting more people in uniform, desk roles are on offer, too.
There's the submarine agency, for starters, charged with overseeing and delivering the project. Then there's the new regulator to ensure the nuclear-powered boats are in line with safety regulations.
The Defence Strategic Review's authors also want a new position in the top brass - a Chief of Personnel, which we believe will be separate to the existing Deputy Secretary Defence People.
Responsibility for keeping our long-range missile stockpile filled to the brim should also be given to a new team, they say.
If numbers and announcements are anything to go by, it's a good time to be working in defence.
Over to you
- What does your work browsing history show?
- Is your office's kitchen state dire?
- ps@canberratimes.com.au