At the outset I want to make it clear that I am not a member of any political party.

In his address to the National Press Club Joe Hockey stated that,

We all have to pay our fair share of tax. But the relationship with the ATO does not have to be adversarial and should be based on mutual respect.

One measure that will help…

Here we go again. The Australian Public Service Commission using the Canberra Times to discourage online discussion concerning public administration. Surely the Canberra Times should look at these issues in-depth and not simply report social media pests to face sack in new public service code.

I'm not sure what's worse. The…

There are quite a few things I like about America. Like enthusiasm about pitching an idea. Like the word awesome. There is a place for restraint of course - and here in Australia public servants do it so well.

But it irks me. Why should we be so restrained when pitching ideas about…

Today, the Canberra Times published an article entitled Whistleblower laws facing fine-tuning. Apparently, the Australian Public Service Commissioner, Stephen Sedgwick, informed the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs that the laws should not allow public servants to go 'forum shopping'.

Quite frankly, this is a bit rich given the…

I am the first to acknowledge that the Australian Public Service Commission has a hard job to do and does do some great work - for example, the work being done around capability development and the work undertaken by the Human Capital Research and Evaluation group.

However,…

Today is the start of World Innovation and Creativity Week. What better day to release a social media freedom charter for Australian public servants.

The charter stands in contrast to the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct and the practices of many APS agencies. As we have seen and written about many a time on OZloop the practices of APS agencies do not reflect enlightened democratic values.

Seeking…

A great exclusive by Linton Besser @lb_online and Nick Phillips @NickySMH concerning a Call for inquiry as CSIRO comes under the microscope.

In this exclusive it is pointed out…

For some time myself and my colleagues on OZloop have been highlighting that all is not well within Australian Public Service agencies.

Extensive corporate management and red tape, demands for blind compliance, bullying and mobbing, the abuse of psychiatry, human resource functions that have lost sight of people, the misuse of performance management, crushing people who raise difficult questions or whistleblow. All of these characteristics are clear markers of dysfunctional…

Today I want to present a few challenges. To do that I am first going to step back in time. Not bad for someone whose preference is the future.

 

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

 

A great speech from John F. Kennedy in 1961. You can read the full text of President Kennedy's speech and view historical footage …

Looking beyond 

Workplace bullying and mobbing is more than a series of cases or incidents. Within the Australian Public Service it reflects the well documented challenges the culture and practices of the Australian Public Service pose in relation to innovation, open government, the building of a social media capability and, indeed, cultural change itself.

In our our paper…

It is with interest I read media reports concerning the the doubling of compensation payments to employees of the Australian Public Service. Even discounting for what some may see as sensationalist headlines - Compensation payouts to federal public servants double to $1 billion - costs of this magnitude point to substantial…

Our OZloop creatives have been at it again. Hot on the heals of the Crikey Exclusive and Deep inside the ATO . . . a new Tax Commish, Deeds of Releases and 'That Woman'.

These are serious matters of public administration so before watching the results of our rebellious creatives, you might like to read the Crikey Exclusive. Click on…

Failure

One of the more interesting debates I had when working within the Australian Public Service concerned organisational culture. To be precise, about the notion of reforming culture from the ground up.

Here I was taking some tech I was responsible for down that path and you'd think I'd committed heresy. Especially by pointing out that corporate culture change programmes are right up there with the tried…

It's been a big year for bullying within the Australian Public Service. 

We are delighted with Recommendation 8 of the national bullying report where the committee concluded that,

. . . the allegations of misuse of the mental health assessment referral power within the APS that the Committee heard about signify that there is a need to monitor how that power is used and how often there are reviews on the grounds of misuse.

Putting…

The Canberra Times piece One in six public servants 'bullied' contains some interesting messages. For example,

Almost…

Fair Work Australia has released a document outlining its plan for the year ahead. But does it need to go further?

Some of the common themes that have emerged during my conversations with Australian Public servants who have dealt with Fair Work Australia are as follows:

• Bureaucratic and slow.

• Gets hoodwinked by Australian Human Public Service management. Especially by human resources.

• They do not…

Social stigma

It was with great interest I read a recent series of articles published by the Canberra Times about the Australian Public Service.

• 25 October Agencies wary of paid-out PS staff

• 27 October …

I see that smartcompany has picked up on Crikey's report on the departure of the current Tax Commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo. Check out Why Swan moved the nation’s top tax man on.

Of course, the Taxation Office also issued its own announcement on the…

Dear Commissioner

The purpose of this open letter is to articulate a number of issues relating to the apparent thinking of the Australian Public  Service Commission and, indeed, the way the Commission goes about its work. In particular, it is a matter of concern that the Commission's stance perpetuates a repressive corporate management culture.

Self-limiting view of social media

It is writ large…

Last month I presented at the Future of social government conference held in Canberra. It was a…