This Month
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Unrealistic public sector pay claims risk an inflation budget hangover
The wage demands at the tail end of the inflation-cycle will add to the fiscal pressure on state government’s already deep in debt and deficit.
- The AFR View
- Analysis
- Federal budget
With a $7.4b black hole, Gallagher tries to explain the unexplainable
Budgeting no money for public servant wage rises may have made sense under a stingy Coalition, but it makes no sense under a Labor government hiring like mad.
- Michael Read
December 2024
Chief scientist Cathy Foley despairs for an impatient society
The federal government’s top scientific adviser, whose term finishes at Christmas, says Australia needs to rethink its approach to research and innovation.
- Tom McIlroy
- Exclusive
- NBN
How many can you name? The 30 public servants earning more than $1m
Executives from NBN Co, Australia Post and Snowy Hydro topped the latest leaderboard for public service and government-owned business pay packets.
- Tom McIlroy
November 2024
Canberra’s in-house consultants notch up 15 government projects
The federal government’s internal consulting service has completed 15 projects, including policy development, analytics assessments and strategy work.
- Edmund Tadros
Public servant wages outpace private for the first time since 2020
Annual wage growth fell to 3.5 per cent in September from 4.1 per cent in June, as pay growth slowed on the back of a cooling economy.
- Updated
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Government debt
Victoria’s debt levies haul in far more than expected
The latest budget update reveals the state Labor government has raised more taxes than forecast but made fewer cuts than promised.
- Patrick Durkin and Gus McCubbing
$500m in Canberra consulting to be slashed
Consulting firms working for Defence, the NDIS and the Tax Office will be hardest hit by a new plan to strip more than $500 million in work from the embattled advisory sector this financial year.
- Edmund Tadros
October 2024
Corruption chief ‘engaged in misconduct’ on stopping robo-debt probe
Anti-corruption chief Paul Brereton should have excused himself completely from decisions involving a former military colleague and robo-debt chief Kathryn Campbell.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Victoria’s $8b black box, stamped confidential
In 2022, pandemic-indebted Victoria sold its motor registry to a consortium led by Macquarie Bank. Two years later there is not much to show for it, and the secretive registry is free from scrutiny.
- Tom Burton
‘Nothing is stopping it’: spring fears for avian flu on the move
Authorities are on red alert for any springtime outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu, as an army of citizen scientists look for early signs of the virus.
- Tom Burton
Office distractions hinder workplace productivity: study
Fewer distractions and better supervision have emerged as critical ingredients to driving better productivity returns from hybrid working.
- Tom Burton and Euan Black
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Why measuring public sector productivity is so slippery
When Productivity Commission researchers examined past assessments of the health system’s productivity earlier this year, they were pleasantly surprised.
- Tom Burton
September 2024
True blue dilemma: what makes a business Australian?
As the Albanese government prepares to throw billions of dollars at its signature Made in Australia scheme, there is no agreed definition on what makes an Australian business.
- Tom Burton
Top bureaucrat breached code of conduct 12 times during robo-debt
A review has found 12 public servants, including department secretary Kathryn Campbell, breached the public service code of conduct 97 times during the notorious debt recovery scheme.
- Tom Burton
Anti-corruption commission clears former ASIC deputy Karen Chester
The National Anti-Corruption Commission has sought to protect against unfair reputation damage, clearing former ASIC deputy chairman Karen Chester of corrupt behaviour
- Tom Burton
Why ‘body-shopping’ for consultants is dead in Canberra
The firms hardest hit by sharply lower government spending on consulting are those contracting out short- or medium-term advisers to agencies and departments.
- Edmund Tadros
Urgent laws needed to ban AI election fakes
AI-generated fake videos showing political leaders banning gambling advertising have prompted the government to seek the advice of the Electoral Commission.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Government Observed
How to unlock the productivity power of a forgotten sector
There is a renewed push to get better value from the vast array of government services that make up around 20 per cent of the economy.
- Tom Burton
August 2024
Albanese backflips on sexuality census question
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has agreed to reinstate a census question on sexual orientation, but remains under pressure to survey all gender identities.
- Tom Burton and Phillip Coorey