Moves by the Public Service Commission to tighten its control over senior APS appointments are further welcome confirmation that after years of neglect and abuse the tide has begun to turn for the public service.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Since coming to office the Albanese government has pledged to depoliticise the APS, to rebuild in-house expertise that had been hollowed out during the Coalition era, and to slash the government's dependence on "Big Four" consultants for "expert" advice, costing billions.
All of those moves were long overdue. They have been welcomed by an APS workforce, which was often treated by former prime minister Scott Morrison with thinly-veiled contempt.
How else would one describe the remarkably short-sighted and self-serving decision by Mr Morrison to appoint his former chief-of-staff as the head of Prime Minister and Cabinet, arguably the most senior role in the APS?
Not even Tony Abbott went quite that far.
As part of the latest tranche of reforms, government agencies are to be required to bring performance requirements for senior leaders into line with standards set by the APSC - and to report back on the "maturity" of the processes used to do so.
The wisdom of this is so clearly apparent it beggars belief this didn't happen years ago.
And, in equally welcome news, come next month, Public Service Commissioner Gordon de Brouwer will be much more actively involved in the selection of Senior Executive Staff than any of his recent predecessors.
Dr de Brouwer, whose appointment was announced on May 5, had been the Secretary for Public Sector Reform since June 2022.
He has been at the heart of the overhaul of the APS and has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring it once again becomes a source of independent and fearless advice to government.
One of the best ways to achieve this goal is to provide as much distance as possible between the government of the day and top-level appointments.
Appointees who believe their rise and fall is dependent on bowing to the whims of their political masters are inherently incapable of putting the public interest before their own.
"Robodebt" was a classic - and shameful - example of this.
This is one reason why some argue the reforms should go even further, with Andrew Podger, the APS commissioner from 2002 to 2004, saying legislation needed to be passed to "future-proof" the APS from future political interference.
Professor Podger wants the APS commissioner to take the lead in advising the Prime Minister on secretaries' appointments and terminations.
If the Prime Minister chooses to deviate from from this independent advice then that should be reported to the Parliament. Appointments at the highest levels of the APS are not the only ones in need of scrutiny and reform.
There is a widespread perception in Canberra that a form of institutionalised "nepotism" is alive and well at almost all levels of the APS. This takes the form of advertised positions going to a favourite internal candidate who already had the job in all but name before the official selection process began.
READ MORE:
Not only is this an abuse of people who believe the job has been advertised in good faith, it also makes it hard to bring in new talent, new ideas and fresh points of view.
If the APS is to become the best possible version of itself then merit-based - and transparent - selection processes must be rolled out at all levels.
This won't be easy but Dr de Brouwer has five years in which to deliver the goods.
Send us a letter to the editor
- Letters to the editor should be kept to 250 or fewer words. To the Point letters should not exceed 50 words. Reference to The Canberra Times reports should include a date and page number. Provide a phone number and address (only your suburb will be published). Responsibility for election comment is taken by John-Paul Moloney of 121 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra. Published by Federal Capital Press of Australia Pty Ltd.
