Yet another private member’s bill designed to introduce greater accountability of consulting firms has been killed off by a committee report. The finance and public administration committee declined to give the big tick to Senator Barbara Pocock‘s proposal to ban consulting firms a fortnight ago. Committee members from the same
How the contemporary debate on immigration plays out during the next few years will have profound effects on the wellbeing of Australians. Not just for the sensibilities of the 31% (!) of Australian residents who were born overseas (June 2024 figure), or for harmony in our streets, but for our
In 1976, the Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration, led by public service doyen H.C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, considered the operations and efficiency of the federal public service. In so doing, it contemplated the relationship between ministers and secretaries, and ministerial accountability — that is to say, ministerial responsibility — for
The Tax Practitioners Board is urging accountants and other members of the public to report a recently deregistered tax agent if he continues offering services. TPB chair Peter de Cure wants people to report Parampreet Singh Rajput if he, or any of the eight entities in which he has an
In this final part of our ‘Government 3.0’ series, Victor Dominello and Carmem Domingues identify the dangers of ‘brain drain’ and ‘brain fry’. Part 3 covered the risks of passively accepting the baked-in bias of AI automation. Part 2 argued that faster processes are not the same as better public
A wage dispute between Victoria’s local government sector and the Australian Services Union, which covers municipal clerks and rank-and-file frontline workers, including garbage collectors, parking inspectors, and librarians, has boiled over into a full-blown rubbish-collection strike across three prominent councils and could soon hit as many as eight ...
Soaring fuel prices have prompted the New South Wales Public Service Association to demand a significant lift in the current 88 cents per-kilometre refund rate that can be claimed from employers or the Australian Tax Office when government workers use their own cars to undertake work-related travel. It’s a claim
The government will not act on the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into AI use in the education system. Tabled last week, the government’s response to the House of Representatives standing committee on Employment, Education and Training’s report accepts one of 35 recommendations. This recommendation to raise school funding to 100% of
Central agencies are pointing fingers at the door as part of a pre-budget staff cleanout. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is the latest to offer staff redundancies as part of budget reprioritisation. A spokesperson for DCCEEW said any departures would be voluntary. “The department
Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith could face life in prison for alleged war crimes involving the murder of unarmed Afghan civilians. Australia’s most decorated living soldier was arrested at Sydney Domestic Airport on Tuesday morning after extensive allegations that he murdered Afghans while deployed in the country between 2009 and
In Part 1 of this series, Rex Patrick explained what was in Lynelle Briggs’ report into former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo’s misconduct and the first of the seven allegations against him. Here, he reports on the rest of her findings. In addition to Mike Pezzullo being found to have
Ratepayers in Victoria can trust the accounts of their local councils, according to the latest report on local government reporting from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. VAGO released its annual deep dive into the quality of reporting of local governments in Victoria. It has issued clean audit opinions for all local
Yet another private member’s bill designed to introduce greater accountability of consulting firms has been killed off by a committee report. The finance and public administration committee declined to give the big tick to Senator Barbara Pocock‘s proposal to ban consulting firms a fortnight ago. Committee members from the same
How the contemporary debate on immigration plays out during the next few years will have profound effects on the wellbeing of Australians. Not just for the sensibilities of the 31% (!) of Australian residents who were born overseas (June 2024 figure), or for harmony in our streets, but for our
In 1976, the Royal Commission on Australian Government Administration, led by public service doyen H.C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, considered the operations and efficiency of the federal public service. In so doing, it contemplated the relationship between ministers and secretaries, and ministerial accountability — that is to say, ministerial responsibility — for
The Tax Practitioners Board is urging accountants and other members of the public to report a recently deregistered tax agent if he continues offering services. TPB chair Peter de Cure wants people to report Parampreet Singh Rajput if he, or any of the eight entities in which he has an
In this final part of our ‘Government 3.0’ series, Victor Dominello and Carmem Domingues identify the dangers of ‘brain drain’ and ‘brain fry’. Part 3 covered the risks of passively accepting the baked-in bias of AI automation. Part 2 argued that faster processes are not the same as better public
A wage dispute between Victoria’s local government sector and the Australian Services Union, which covers municipal clerks and rank-and-file frontline workers, including garbage collectors, parking inspectors, and librarians, has boiled over into a full-blown rubbish-collection strike across three prominent councils and could soon hit as many as eight ...
Soaring fuel prices have prompted the New South Wales Public Service Association to demand a significant lift in the current 88 cents per-kilometre refund rate that can be claimed from employers or the Australian Tax Office when government workers use their own cars to undertake work-related travel. It’s a claim
The government will not act on the recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into AI use in the education system. Tabled last week, the government’s response to the House of Representatives standing committee on Employment, Education and Training’s report accepts one of 35 recommendations. This recommendation to raise school funding to 100% of
Central agencies are pointing fingers at the door as part of a pre-budget staff cleanout. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) is the latest to offer staff redundancies as part of budget reprioritisation. A spokesperson for DCCEEW said any departures would be voluntary. “The department
Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith could face life in prison for alleged war crimes involving the murder of unarmed Afghan civilians. Australia’s most decorated living soldier was arrested at Sydney Domestic Airport on Tuesday morning after extensive allegations that he murdered Afghans while deployed in the country between 2009 and
In Part 1 of this series, Rex Patrick explained what was in Lynelle Briggs’ report into former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo’s misconduct and the first of the seven allegations against him. Here, he reports on the rest of her findings. In addition to Mike Pezzullo being found to have
Ratepayers in Victoria can trust the accounts of their local councils, according to the latest report on local government reporting from the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office. VAGO released its annual deep dive into the quality of reporting of local governments in Victoria. It has issued clean audit opinions for all local
