Is the public service about to rebel?

As a public servant in Health… let me say frank and fearless advice is OUT. Way out.

Plus we have been given speeches by high SES officers saying to watch out for coercion coming up to the election, and to notify higher ups if we are asked to produce propaganda-like information or produce data/info that is wildly misrepresentative. Because it is happening more and more often.

There’s an interesting article in the latest issue of the Australian Journal of Public Administration by David Kemp, who was on Malcom Fraser’s personal staff in the lead-up to the currency float in the late 70s. Kemp paints a picture of a near-secessionist Treasury, refusing to support the Prime Minister’s currency policy, presenting contrary views in the media, and undermining the government of the day at every step. It came down to a dummy spit in the end, with Treasury claming at the last minute that it couldn’t understand Fraser’s policy and that he’d have to write his own goddamned speech thank you very much sir, you f*ckwit.

If it matters, frank and fearless advice is alive and well in my Department, and the need for it has been hammered home again and again over the last couple of weeks in the lead-up to the development of Incoming Government Briefs.

jemmy, I would say the “closer to ten” comment was correct. That’s why I left.

machinations inside Treasury about being the preminent view on all policy matters that involve $ is nothing new.

The views of some inside Departments is not the same thing as the views of the Department either.
It would be like saying RiotACT is a loony left I mean facist forum where only those who aspire to capital punishment for everything that upsets them have a place.

Where this will get really interesting is when the AFP are called in.

I have a close relative in the SES. I know for a fact that frank and fearless advice has been out for at least 5 years and closer to 10. We actually had a dinner party blue about it, as families do.

Unfortunately, this person doesn’t see it as an issue, they (non-gender specific thanks) think it is their role in line with new thinking on public service philosophy to give advice that the Government wants to hear, not to canvass all issues and present them all.

They justify this by saying it would be a total waste of resources to spend time on research that they know will be rejected at the first presentation to
Govt. I can see the point, but how do they effect change then?

Frank and fearless advice is out the window these days – or overboard with the kiddies maybe.

And bonfire – many depts and smaller agencies are quite left leaning – you must have worked in the other ones.

The other one’s got bells on!

what do mean ‘they’ve been well cowed’, jb?

they’ve always worked under the premise of frank and fealess advice, as it were – that is, they implement the desires of the government that the people elected. it isn’t their job to spout their personal politics.

who is cowing?

They’ve been very well cowed for the last decade that’s for sure.

i know the media are left leaning, but in my experience the public service is very conservative and id be hard pressed to pick the political leanings of most people ive worked with, especally in my former life.

the iraq wars (both) flushed a few anti-us bashers out.

but generally to state that the public service is about to rebel is abit over the top.

obviously some are positioning for a change in regime. this is normal, as is the paperwork required to brief new ministers etc. you get to conduct a bit of revisionism and blame prev ministers, instead of your own dept for policy failures.

i also recall the massive leaking and backgrounding that went on under hawke keating. it doesnt happen too often these days.

most public servants are professional enough to abide by the code of conduct and not let their partisan desires affect their performance.

the very low level of union membership, and even lower level of union participation in the modern ps workplace speaks volumes.

agency agreements limited the unions power significantly.

i dont see a rebellion. i see a hopeful headline. newspapers love to setup adversarial positions – its really all they are good at. nuanced analysis is beyond most journos.