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…

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…

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 …

Undermining FOI and Open Government

The primary purpose of this post was (and still is), to provide an update on my freedom of information request to Comcare, the Australian Public Service Commission and there Australian Taxation Office. My request concerned the monitoring of OZloop and was quite detailed. If you haven't read it already, you might like to do so …

In todays Canberra Times.

Lots of allegations have been tossed around by stakeholders and media in recent times and I would have to say that the basis for some of those are pretty dodgy,'' he said.

Over the last three years, to October 2012, there have been 11 allegations of bullying and harassment made in the CSIRO and 10 of those have subsequently not been substantiated.

CSIRO deputy chief executive of…

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…

No. This post is not about a new website called APSDenial. That being said, it is tempting to set up a satirical site highlighting the Australian Public Service's antics in relation to the bullying and mobbing of employees and the important systemic and cultural issues it raises.

Mind you the way things are going it would be interesting to re-write the…

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…

After reading the Canberra Times article Bureaucrats warned against online gossip one could be forgiven for thinking that the 'silly season' has hit with a vengeance.

My major concern with what has been reported is that many of the views expressed are at odds…

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…

Gov 2.0 Conference Canberra

Spring is officially here in Canberra. OK it doesn't feel quite like it yet. Except for those of us who are busily sneezing away of course. October will bring warmer weather and, for me, that means no more allergic…

For quite a while now I've been working on my submission to the Australian Government inquiry in to workplace bullying. It has been a lengthy journey and there have been many discussions. What I have attempted to do is paint a clear sociological picture of workplace bullying in the Australian Public Service.

To varying degrees my submission applies to organisations outside the APS. However, I have focused on the APS for one simple reason. The APS serves our Federal Government…

Well, not really, but I must admit that I had a quiet laugh to myself when I read that Microsoft had acquired Yammer.

It brought back memories of what some of my former colleagues and I within the Australian Taxation Office called the 'Yammer event'. While the event obviously had some serious implications in terms of revealing the nature of the corporate culture of the ATO…

Oh no, not another survey I hear you saying.

Every time the issue of organisational culture comes up armies of consultants, along with human resource and organisational development practitioners, start mobilising. Surveys abound, all trying to get inside your head and tell you what the corporate culture should be.

And let's not forget the corporate communications people.

It's an old approach; a tried and failed approach. Why?  Because it's an…

I am appalled at the level of systematic abuse Serene Teffaha has been subjected to by the Taxation Office. However, I am not surprised that this abuse has occurred. The ugly managerial practices revealed in Serene's post Silence is Consent are a reflection of the mindset and culture of corporate areas within the Taxation Office.

I believe in the value of the public…

Full credit to the ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, Canberra Liberals leader Zed Seselja and ACT Greens leader Meredith Hunter saying they did not want Canberra to bear the brunt of the government's savings measures. Canberra Times - Leaders unite for budget appeal.

However, these cutbacks are just the beginning. The Australian Public Service is caught…

It is fair to say that because of its' function the Taxation Office is going to come in for some unfair criticism. However, it is also true to say that some elements within the Taxation Office are risk averse to the point where they do not tolerate criticism. And let's be scrupulously fair here. The further you go up the hierarchy of any large organisation the more likely it is that internal politics and self preservation will come into play.

In fairness again, it is well…

A very interesting "how-to" guide from Brian Solis on the rise of digital influence. While it does focus on the dynamic between business and consumers the thoughts and lessons are relevant to the public service. In particular, the point…

Malcolm Turnbull's speech to the Australian Computer Society outlining his Gov 2.0 Vision is well worth a read. As some people have tweeted "Turnbull gets it". But let's not forget the brilliant work of Kate Lundy and Lindsay…