After robodebt, here's how Australia can have a truly 'frank and fearless' public service again
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Thursday, July 13, 2023
Adoption, Northcote–Trevelyan Report, Private sector, Employment, APS, Civil service, Contract, Policy, Goal, History, Civil service commission, Accounting, Government, Public sector, Philosophy, SES, Federation, Gold, Compliance, Public service, Courage, KPI-driven code analysis, Department of Human Services, Pension fund, Renewable energy, Management, Coalition
A quick history tour of public service system design helps identify a robust path forward.
Key Points:
- A quick history tour of public service system design helps identify a robust path forward.
- The imperial Chinese civil service, which recruited on merit via examination and with career-long employment, was seen to produce much better quality advice.
- In 1854, the Northcote-Trevelyan Report successfully recommended the adoption of the same kind of approach in Britain, and what we know as the Westminster-style public service was born.
- Its public service manifestation is known as “managerialism”, or “new public management”.
- It eliminated key design features of the Westminster-style public service and made it operate more and more like a private company.
- The APS in 1983 was staffed by career public servants proud of working in, and only in, the public interest.
- That’s why many public servants have been and remain mystified by the drive for a more “responsive” public service via managerialist changes made since the 1980s.