World War II and 9/11 led to permanent social shifts. The coronavirus will too, says the man who led Victoria through Black Saturday. John Brumby During John Brumby’s time as premier of Victoria, he dealt with several major crises: when the state nearly ran out of water in the millennium…
It’s not enough to keep having “the same old conversations”, argues new Victorian EPA Chair Kate Auty. For her, that has meant talking to sports fans about climate change, convincing local communities about Aboriginal sentencing courts, and boosting the readership of environmental reports. Kate Auty’s career has been incredibly varied.…
Is achieving perfection in public policy a mere pipe dream? And is being perfect everything we think and hope it is anyway? Could perfection undermine what is actually good when it comes to forming public policy? All very deep and philosophical indeed. So, we put the whole topic before members…
NSW has been on a customer service journey over the past few years. Department of Customer Service Deputy Secretary William Murphy on how the state government is improving services for citizens. William Murphy “The Department of Customer Service here is, as far as I know, the first department of its…
Regulators need to be independent, but what does this mean in practice? Peter Shergold and Graeme Samuel recently offered their thoughts to the ANZSOG regulators’ community of practice. The ideal regulator must crack down on bad actors, but also allow business to flourish. They need to closely understand regulated industries…
Maria Katsonis Public engagement is a great way to access expertise held by the community, but is often frustrating for participants — especially those from diverse communities. Consider whether you’re really empowering people, says Maria Katsonis. If you go to Google and search for public participation, “you’re going to see…
In this final instalment of his three-part series (here are parts one and two), Nicholas Gruen discusses new thinking around understanding how, and not just what, needs to done. New ways of institutionalising know-how Given governments’ evident failure in rising to the challenges of the third way, it’s not surprising…
In this second instalment of his three-part series (Part One is here), economist and forward thinker Nicholas Gruen explains more of why it is so important to understand the ‘how’ of getting things done. From the commanding heights to everyday routines The big public sector careers are built in the…
Government leaders understanding what they need to do when faced with impending issues is one thing. But here, in the first of a three-part series, Nicholas Gruen gets into the nitty-gritty of coming to terms with the ‘how’ of what needs to be done. It is impossible to remember, until…
Which management type are you: the robot? The superhuman? Consultant Mark LeBusque on the importance of really knowing your colleagues — and yourself. Mark LeBusque When Mark LeBusque was younger, he was a bad manager. “I call him Bad Mark,” he laughs. “Bad Mark had a title in mind, and…
Aida is a 62-year-old retired grandmother living in Uganda. She receives a video on her smartphone forwarded by her cousin of a child crying after getting a measles vaccine. Should she forward it? That’s the decision players of Choose Your Own Fake News, an online game targeted at tackling disinformation…
The Tax Office is rethinking government interventions and services for a complex world using a new, multi-disciplinary approach. Assistant Commissioner Misha Kaur discusses the value of systems thinking. At the beginning of this year, few could have imagined we’d end up hoarding toilet paper and spending months in our houses.…
Testing the logic behind your arguments can only strengthen them, argues the head of Zoos Victoria. For some, ‘ethics’ may invoke memories of integrity training, or perhaps ancient philosophical texts. But it can also serve as a very practical tool for leaders to ask themselves whether they’re making the right…
The former premier discusses evacuating a hospital while a cyclone loomed, finding leadership lessons in everyday life, and working from home for the first time in her career. Leading in a major crisis is a tough job requiring difficult calls to be made on imperfect information — and one Anna…
Marty Edwards The pandemic has highlighted security vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure, says a veteran of the US government’s cyber emergency response team. The shift to widespread working from home has opened up new opportunities for cyber crime, warns critical infrastructure security expert Marty Edwards. “In the move to a home…