Our publication ‘State of the Australian Public Service: An Alternative Report’ and all related media and commentary

Cheryl McGregor | Paying our respects to the bureaucrats

Cheryl McGregor at The Newcastle Herald, has mined the sneak preview of our upcoming paper, The State of the Australian Public Service: An Alternative Report to find that as citizens we are discerning enough to distinguish our feelings for the government of the day from what we think of our public service and the people who work in it. Contrary to depictions in the media and what our pollies might have to say, we actually … more

James Whelan | Public Opinion Pro Public Service

Public Servants: lazy bureaucratic fat cats or necessary to achieve “ambitious goals for a richer, fairer and greener Australia” (Kim Carr)? Recent CPD research has returned some surprising results regarding attitudes towards the public service and staffing trends. While politicians regularly criticise the role our public servants are doing, social surveys highlight the fact that citizens support a well-funded public sector. The rhetoric that the public service is growing out of control and needs to be … more

Public service in the news | 19/7/11

Green public sector on the rise > A green brigade of bureaucrats assigned to environmental programs around the country has grown by 20 per cent since Labor won power four years ago. And the commonwealth public service has breached some of its own energy-saving targets, with the Canberra headquarters consuming 25 per cent more electricity than a decade ago… Abbott’s direct action plan on carbon is friendless > The public servants would need to have … more

 

‘Public servants are an easy target’: Upcoming CPD report

Earlier this year, Senator Kim Carr observed that, “The pleasure taken in bureaucrat bashing has reached new extremes.” CPD’s research confirms the Senator’s view. Our analysis of the Parliamentary record, in particular, reveals a highly polarised debate without consistent left-right positions. This pattern is reflected in media commentary, where public servants are sometimes depicted as “wasters”, “pen pushers” and “freeloaders”. Surveys of citizens’ views reveal more positive views. In fact, Australians generally support increased funding … more

Public Private Partnerships no ‘magic pudding’

In the heyday of the Kennett government in Victoria 'Public Private Partnerships' were promoted as the 'debt free' way to fund public infrastructure. Although the idea that the public can get 'something for nothing' through these partnerships has now been widely discredited, most Australian governments still find the idea of shifting debt 'off balance sheet' attractive. The current Victorian government in particular, working in the shadow of alleged financial mismanagement by past Labor governments, seems … more