In mid-2016, then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed Australia’s first cybersecurity minister, Dan Tehan. Such appointments are important signals: they accord priority to particular issues and ostensibly a voice in government decision-making. Little wonder that industry has been calling for its reinstatement since it was vacated by Angus Taylor two years later.

While ministers with specific portfolios may be popular, there is less appetite for ensuring the actual mechanics needed to build policy capacity, enable co-ordination across government, facilitate delivery and ensure accountability. And that’s problematic: a smart, effective public service is needed to meet the promise of digital technologies while managing their dark side, cyber security.