Secretaries in the Australian Public Service are overpaid and should have their salaries cut significantly, former APS Commissioner Andrew Podger says.
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In a discussion paper, Professor Podger called for an overhaul of how secretaries were recruited and paid, arguing the current system incentivised senior public servants to do the bidding of government ministers.
"The rewards have been for serving the minister for whatever they want, and not for doing the right thing," he told The Canberra Times.
He said Albanese government should "rebalance the rewards and penalties" by reintroducing ongoing tenure for secretaries, with lower salaries as the trade-off.
"Their pay has gone too high," Prof Podger said.
The robodebt royal commission found "a number of senior public servants had focused far too much on serving their minister, to the point where they did not clarify the unlawfulness of what they were doing".
"There has been clear evidence of failure of the public service to provide the proper advice ... in addition to political failure," he said, also naming sports rorts, community health grants, commuter car parks and former prime minister Scott Morrison's multiple ministries.
Under the proposed reforms, secretaries on tenure could be moved periodically - such as every five years - with the expectation, subject to performance, "that they will continue at that level in a job somewhere" in the APS.
'Strong case' senior public servants are overpaid
The highest-paid APS Secretary, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's Glyn Davis, saw his total remuneration tip over $1 million this week after a 3.5 per cent Remuneration Tribunal increase kicked in on July 1.
Prof Podger, an honorary professor of public policy at the Australian National University, rejected the argument salaries this high were needed to attract talent and compete with the private sector.
"The movement between senior public servants and the private sector is pretty limited," he said.
"There's a lot of incentive for people to stay in the public sector, because they like being involved in the processes of public policy ... there is a strong case to say that they're being paid more than they need."
Robodebt scandal highlights need for reform
Last year, Kathryn Campbell was found to have given misleading evidence to federal cabinet while secretary of the Human Services and Social Services Departments.
It took a royal commission for her to be held accountable, having been parachuted into a $900,000-a-year AUKUS advisory role by Defence secretary Greg Moriarty.
By contrast, Colleen Taylor, the former DHS compliance officer who blew the whistle on the robodebt scheme, was hounded into an early retirement in July 2017.
Last month, Ms Taylor received an Order of Australia medal for her service to public administration.
Prof Podger's discussion paper also called for the APS Commissioner to have a greater say in appointments, with a reduced role for the secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
"To achieve the appointment of high-quality people as secretaries, it is important that their selection is based closely on merit rather than political considerations," he wrote.
In an interview, he said the APS Commissioner should also play a stronger role in performance management of secretaries.
The paper bears the names of 28 distinguished public service alumni who support it, including former Treasury secretary Ken Henry, former Department of Agriculture secretary Joanna Hewitt and former Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Michael Keating.
"Robodebt and other recent cases of maladministration demonstrate the urgent need for reform," they wrote in a forward to the paper.
The former senior public servants commended the paper, encouraging the government to consider its recommendations for reform.
Minister's APS reform agenda
Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has promised comprehensive and enduring changes to strengthen the public service, with a focus on integrity.
From October 1, changes to Commonwealth Grant rules and principles will take effect, requiring any decisions to spend taxpayer funds in a minister's electorate to be reported to the Parliament on a quarterly basis.
Legislation passed in May creates a new APS value of stewardship; requires the Secretaries Board to prepare an APS Purpose Statement; and requires agency heads to uphold and promote the APS Purpose Statement, among other reforms that partially implemented the Thodey review's recommendations.
The bill also states ministers must not direct agency heads on individual employment matters and makes regular capability reviews mandatory.