Public Eye: AUKUS submarine paperclips, robodebt referrals hushed, and just where is the Merit Protection Commissioner?

But in Canberra, there was another aspect perhaps just as mysterious.

Submarine-shaped paperclips were holding together the briefings handed to journalists in Parliament House on the morning of the announcement.

Cute, we thought, but we wanted to know more.

How many did they get? How much did it cost? Did someone manually bend the paper clips into a submarine shape?

And disappointingly, the Department of Defence's media team did not respond to our requests to find out further details.

Instead, Public Eye had to unearth the answers to these very questions the hardest way possible - through the bureaucratic, snail-paced freedom-of-information process.

But it delivered. The paper clip procurement started months earlier, in the last days of August 2022.

A Defence official in charge of the presumably classified project asked a small business based in Sydney if the department could order just 500 of the already pre-bent submarine-shaped paper clips.

Unfortunately, however, they had to purchase a minimum of 250 dozen of the paper clips, costing $US368, or a little more than $500, including shipping.

Eventually, they ended up with 3000 of the paper clips. Some might say that's overkill while others will say this is a reasonably happy ending for a Defence procurement process.

Still, only a handful must have been used for the media lockup in March.

So we ask - where else have these fancy paper clips been used? The next mystery might already be unfolding.

Just over a week after the release of the robodebt royal commission report, government agencies are refusing to provide information on how they are responding.

Commissioner Catherine Holmes SC decided not to publish a section of the report recommending individuals be referred for civil action or criminal prosecution "so as not to prejudice the conduct of any future civil action or criminal prosecution".

Parts of that chapter have also been provided to some agency bosses, the Australian Public Service Commissioner, the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner, the ACT Law Society president and the Australian Federal Police.

In attempts to find out more about the fallout from the "neither fair nor legal" scheme, The Canberra Times asked bodies for data on the number of referrals made or received.

We stressed we were not asking for names or further information. They all said no.

The Australian Public Service Commission would not disclose the number of referrals made to it for Code of Conduct investigations, because "to do so, may inadvertently disclose content contained in the sealed chapter," a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, keeping it short and sweet: "The AFP has no comment."

The National Anti-Corruption Commission provides weekly updates on the total number of referrals received, but declined provide the number of referrals from the robodebt report.

Asked how many referrals Department of Social Services secretary Ray Griggs had made to each body, as well as how many individuals had their employment arrangements changed following the report, a spokesperson said: "It is not appropriate for the Department to comment on staffing matters or referrals pertaining to the Robodebt Royal Commission report."

And we didn't get any further with the same questions of Services Australia chief executive officer Rebecca Skinner.

"We are unable to discuss individual details of referrals as nondisclosure orders are in place," its spokesperson said.

"It would not be appropriate to comment on referrals of staff members.'

Here's to transparency.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is having a tough year thanks to its government confidentiality breach becoming public knowledge.

A new requirement for agencies to consider the ethics of its contractors has also effectively cut the consulting giant out of winning new taxpayer bucks.

To rein back in some of its lost revenue, it's announced a grand plan to offload its government arm with the help of private equity, establishing a newly-independent firm, Scyne Advisory.

But it better get to it quickly. According to AusTender, one of its major projects with the Department of Health and Aged Care has been "paused" while it "makes enquiries" to PwC and receives "assurances" it's not up to anything dodgy.

The contract is valued at $2.3 million, having already been increased $138,344 over its three months.

Somehow, we think this might not be something you sweep so easily under the rug.

The Australian Public Service Commission has received its first report card since the capability reviews were discontinued in 2016, urging to it to show some muscle and take a stronger leadership role.

But the review also included a somewhat awkward note on the role of the Merit Protection Commissioner.

The commissioner has the power to review workplace decisions and promotions within the APS, investigate complaints and take inquiries.

Formerly housed under the Australian Public Service Commission, a bit of a rift has emerged between the agency and the commissioner, the report notes.

"Recently, the Merit Protection Commissioner has been considered more of a separate function - that is, a separate entity that only uses the corporate functions of the commission," it reads.

"This separation has marginalised its work and interaction with the broader commission as well as the role of the Merit Protection Commissioner."

There is one other complicating factor: "Further, the role has been vacant since December 2022."

The commission should fill this vacancy ASAP, and then establish a closer working relationship, the report found.

Former Labor minister Greg Combet was chosen to lead the federal government's new Net Zero Agency as chair in a role he started on July 10.

And the "uniquely qualified" chair, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese put it in his announcement, is already making a pretty sum from it.

According to the government pay regulator the Remuneration Tribunal, Mr Combet will be earning a total of $484,050 per year for the gig.

His task is noble. Mr Combet, and his board members, will have to work with state, territory and local governments, plus the unions, industry and investors to clean up Australia's energy economy.

It's a tough gig and we assume he's already had to take a pay cut already after stepping down as chair of investment management firm, IFM Investors.