Punishing critics while courting praise is censorship
Opinion
Opinion

Punishing critics while courting praise is censorship

There is nothing impartial about a public service that encourages staff to promote government policy.

  • byKieran Pender

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The cost of stacking tribunals
Opinion
Opinion

The cost of stacking tribunals

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal must operate without prejudice and above politics.

  • byRachel Siewert
Perverse perk:The'dud'executives paid to quit
Analysis
Analysis

Perverse perk:The'dud'executives paid to quit

Many of the bureaucracy's leaders seem to expect a golden handshake upon their departure.

  • byMarkus Mannheim
Will the High Court gag public servants?
Opinion
Opinion

Will the High Court gag public servants?

We'll soon know whether sacking bureaucrats over their expression of political views is constitutional.

  • byKieran Pender
Alison Harcourt,the almost-forgotten genius

Alison Harcourt,the almost-forgotten genius

This remarkable woman's impact on Australian society almost went unnoticed.

  • byMarkus Mannheim
Telegraph boy to brilliant bureaucrat
Opinion
Opinion

Telegraph boy to brilliant bureaucrat

Sir William Cole,1926 to 2019,was among Australia's greatest public servants.

  • byPaddy Gourley
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Panicking over an employee's past
Opinion
Opinion

Panicking over an employee's past

A labour-hire firm that works for the APS provides a perfect example of how not to sack a recruit.

  • byJohn Wilson
The expenses lapdog or watchdog?
Opinion
Opinion

The expenses lapdog or watchdog?

The public doesn't necessarily see politicians'travel spending as evidence of greed.

  • byRichard Mulgan
Russia's shoe on the other foot
Opinion
Opinion

Russia's shoe on the other foot

The long-downtrodden motherland has gained some hints of Western decadence,but little of its liberty.

  • byMark Thomas
Catching mice with privatised cats
Opinion
Opinion

Catching mice with privatised cats

We'll solve no social problems by whittling away at the government's role in providing services.

  • byJohn Falzon
Super diagnosis over-egged,but prescription has merit
Opinion
Opinion

Super diagnosis over-egged,but prescription has merit

Our system has become so expensive and complicated that a government-run fund is warranted.

  • byAndrew Podger