Features

COVID-19 has placed enormous demands on the public sector, stretching public servants at national, state and local government levels. Working on both the public health and economic responses, many public servants report working harder than ever before. Yet once the acute phase of the crisis passes, the work is unlikely…

12 August 2021. 1pm AEST. Insights for the public sector on Australia’s COVID-19 response. Watch the Highlights. The Mandarin‘s Melissa Coade was joined by Jane Halton AO, Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, co-chair of the COVAX initiative, and former secretary of the Australian Department of Health, and…

Australia’s early response to the COVID-19 pandemic was all about going ‘hard and early’ and, with other government measures, it looked as though political leadership was capable of rising to meet the challenge of the virus head-on — but Dr Don Russell says that is slowly slipping away. When Don…

It was a day to discover, learn about and master the art of meaningful communication strategies. Great communication won’t make a poor policy good, but poor communication can guarantee that policy doesn’t deliver. Add to that, the third decade of the 21st century is bringing a perfect storm of issues…

It was a day to discover, learn about and master the art of meaningful communication strategies. Great communication won’t make a poor policy good, but poor communication can guarantee that policy doesn’t deliver. Add to that, the third decade of the 21st century is bringing a perfect storm of issues…

Scott Hamilton and Stuart Kells caught up with Shane Rattenbury for his insights on climate change, energy policy, bipartisanship and tri-partisanship. Having worked for Greenpeace for about a decade, Shane Rattenbury found himself as a Greens member in the ACT parliament – and holding the balance of power. A shared…

Working out which powers can be relinquished is the first step agencies can make towards Aboriginal self-determination, says Rueben Berg. There has been a big push in recent years for self-determination to underpin government’s relationships with First Nations peoples. But it’s not always clear to public servants how this principle…

Even the flexible work advocates at VEOHRC worried about providing frontline services remotely during lockdown — and were surprised at how well it worked. We all know someone whose boss insisted they could not possibly work from home — until the pandemic forced them to. You might even be one…

Sexism is being experienced by fewer staff while working remotely, and new research reveals the most effective ways to win over fence-sitters on gender equality. Working from home has given many people back their commute time and allowed them to feel more relaxed in their own space. But it appears…

Only two countries have had three female heads of government: Finland and New Zealand. Even these are relatively recent achievements. Finnish PM Sanna Marin has held her role since 2019, whereas Jacinda Ardern became the Kiwi PM in 2017. “As Australians we have a loving and competitive relationship with New…

Moonee Valley council’s ‘Mamma’s Kitchen’ is giving East African women the chance to use their cooking skills in paid work, and it’s helping to build confidence and experience. “It’s hard for us to get a job,” explains Fahan Ahmed. Ahmed is one of the 14 or so women — all…

The pandemic has brought many social shifts, one of which is a massive boost in Australians’ trust in government. So impressed have Australians been with the response to the pandemic that trust is at record highs for all the major institutions — including government, media, business and NGOs — according…

From the grandiose to the incremental, missions offer a powerful policy tool for getting things done. What makes them work? Public missions can change the world. The Manhattan Project altered the geopolitical balance by giving the United States nuclear weapons. The Apollo Program made us rethink our place in the…

Reputation can’t be left to the comms team, argues Michelle Bryne, head of strategic communications at the Victorian Essential Services Commission. Remember that every interaction with stakeholders impacts their view, and rethink those hundred-page reports. Does having a good reputation matter for a regulator? Michelle Bryne That’s the question Michelle…

Homeless hotel programs have given many the security to make positive changes in their lives. Victoria hopes to make these changes permanent. Governments’ lightning-fast responses to the pandemic have shown that many apparently intractable policy problems are in fact failures of will. Homelessness is one of those. Faced with a…