8 May 2008
Minister's Address to SES AGD
Thank you for the invitation to address your planning day and the opportunity to provide senior officers with my views on your roles and how they intersect with my role in the Australian system of Government.
I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet upon today.
Following on from my colleague the Attorney General, I am conscious what he has said this morning applies across the portfolio including to Home Affairs responsibilities and I do not intend to just repeat what he says.
Many of you will also have attended the forum the Prime Minster held in the Parliament on Wednesday 30 April, and it would also be pointless for me to repeat the same speech here today.
Those who attended that forum have had the benefit of hearing the Prime Minister articulate the overall Government approach to the Australian Public Service.
But I do specifically endorse the commitment to renewing the Westminster traditions of an independent public service that provides frank and fearless advice.
The Secretary has today asked me to outline the Government's expectations of the Department and the Australian Public Service more broadly, as well as to express my individual expectations.
I have been advised that this is an opportunity to quite explicitly set the rules of engagement between the SES and the Ministers.
Some time ago, the long serving NSW public servant, Dr Ken Boston who headed the Department of Education and Training for ten years, wrote a short manual for the SES published by the NSW Department of Education entitled: Owning and Operating a Director-General (the largest payroll in Australia I've been told).
Fortuitously or not, I have never been a Minister for Education and therefore Dr Boston never served under me, but we cannot hold that against him.
The manual was a plain English guide to seemingly common sense ideas, like "Don't hold unnecessary meetings". Because as he said; "We would not want to become an organisation which resembles one gigantic square-dance in which partners group and re-group around changing versions of the same agenda".
Just as obviously beneficial was the advice: "To ensure the equanimity of your Director-General, there is no choice but to meet all deadlines: not 60 per cent of them or 90 per cent of them, but all of them".
It may well be time for us now in the Commonwealth to consider how to own and operate your very own Ministers.
The introduction to Owning and Operating a Director-General advised us that; "with a little care and attention, and occasional fine tuning, you can expect many years of enjoyment and pleasure from your acquisition".
Just like a smooth running motor car, regular refuelling, servicing and cleaning of the windows to allow for clear vision is an essential part of the ongoing maintenance which your Minister may, from time to time, require of you all.
And you should not be afraid to come and kick the tyres on the odd occasion as well.
On second thoughts, maybe you could just kick my Chief of Staff instead - and be assured, I will certainly get the message if you do!
Many of you will know I have been a Minister at the State level.
I have had the rare privilege of only ever serving in Government and never in opposition, and for most of my time serving in Government I have been a Minister.
If any of you here today contemplate a political career, I can personally recommend following my example of losing ones seat in the parliament when the Government you serve loses office, and then regaining it upon the Government returning to office.
Many here today have known long public service careers as graduate recruits, but I suspect many more of you have had varying careers outside and within the public sector.
These various career trajectories bring experience, skill and balance to the public service and I expect they will assist the new Government serve and govern well.
As a New South Wales Minister I was well served by clever, intelligent, and occasionally cunning senior public servants.
All these are skills that can be harnessed for the good of government and the service of the Australian people.
I think we are all well aware there is no room for slothful and lazy public servants, those myths of the easy and lavish life of a public servant have, I hope, started to depart the Australian consciousness over recent years.
In my experience with various Department heads - and I have seen more than 20 I think - not because I have been careless and cavalier with them, but because I have had the good fortune to have had about a dozen ministerial portfolios - a strong work ethic has been a consistent quality.
Many of you will deal with my staff and engage with my office on a regular basis as we develop policy and implement the Government's agenda together.
I emphasise we must do that together.
Just as I work with my colleagues in the Ministry, the caucus and - I do not want to alarm you - but even members of the parliament who are not from my own political party - I trust I can work well with all of you.
My office is open to your approaches, ideas and suggestions.
I will not promise there will never be any tensions, however if they arise I am sure these will be minor and temporary as we sort out what is needed for the Government to progress its policies.
You should always remember that my staff are my eyes and ears.
They tell me things, they tell me about you. So tell them what you want me to hear, not necessarily what you think I might want to hear.
I expect them to treat you with respect and I expect that will be returned.
As senior public servants I am sure you understand how you must work with the system we have.
I will trust you as our senior leaders to understand and respect the role of a Minister in Westminster.
The Minister is your Minister - I am accountable to parliament and the Australian people and I rely on the advice and counsel you provide me to undertake this role.
In the spirit of Dr Boston I provide a few suggestions about how to live a fulfilling life working with this particular Minister.
The first thing to remember is - don't wait for the next model.
No matter how difficult to drive in your preferred direction, or how often this version might unexpectedly exceed the speed limit; keep working with it and you will often be unexpectedly rewarded.
The public servant who bides his or her time hoping for a Minister to come along that better suits their own philosophical views may very well waste a whole career in disappointment as he or she waits in vain.
It is very likely, the model you have always wanted, in the perfect colour and trim, will never be made.
On a few rare occasions during my political and Ministerial career, careless comments have been made to me about a long past Minister or even a recent Minister aimed at impugning their integrity, skill or capacity.
These sorts of expressions are best left to the politicians; you may wish to nod or smile politely if your Minister indiscreetly engages in such indulgence rather than engage in this yourself.
No matter how long you have been in public service and are able to say you have seen Ministers come and go - remember there will always be the one who is there right now.
The second thing to remember about how to manage your Minister is to ensure he or she has the fuel they need.
And more often than not that can be provided in the plainest language. If you need some bedtime reading I suggest you look at Don Watson's books. They illustrate well how jargon has infiltrated modern life.
Often, the Minister does not need to be told something is 'robust' because it will be evident as to whether it is or not. Saying it is so does not always make it so. Statements about 'moving forward' and 'thinking strategically' may also get in the way of good plain communication.
The final thing I will ask you to think about is to consider yourself as one of the public we serve. This is commonsense but it's harder to do than say. And it is true that Canberra can be isolated from experiences in the rest of Australia.
How would you respond to a particular policy proposal or its implementation if you were impacted by it?
Whether as a person in the commercial sector impacted by regulation, an indigenous person faced with the legal system, or someone receiving service form front line officers implementing the programs of Government, what would you expect and how would you react?
We are all members of the public in our day to day experiences and we see both the good and bad thrown at us, so let's ensure whatever we do ,we have put in the work to make it the best we can.
Now you know what methods make me work well, it is useful to outline some of the priorities we face in the Home Affairs portfolio.
A national approach to law and justice means working strategically with SCAG and COAG that allows us to ensure the delivery of services in indigenous justice is effective.
I recently spent some time in the Mutitjulu and Imampa Aboriginal communities and met with staff from the area's Legal Aid Services - I really appreciated their openness and honesty.
They do a great deal with minimal support. I want us to provide them the best support we can.
In the meantime, we must continue to provide assistance and support to those already in contact with the criminal justice system.
This means we need to continue delivering services such as:
- Legal Aid for Indigenous Australians
- the Prevention, Diversion, Rehabilitation and Restorative Justice program
- Family Violence Prevention Legal Services, and
- Family Relationship Centres.
The Department has an important part to play in shaping the Federation through its new role in the governance of eight of Australia's ten territories.[1]
I have three strategic goals in this area:
- ensure the governance of the Territories remains appropriate, some 30 years after self-government for the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island, and 20 years for the ACT [2]
- ensure the Territories are appropriately sustainable, on an economic and social basis, and
- work with the Territory governments and communities to finally resolve long-standing problems.
Territory issues tend to be complex and expensive.
So achieving my goals will require a whole of Government approach, and from the Department, innovative thinking and a commitment to action.
For example, over the past ten years, numerous inquiries have concluded that the current
self-government arrangements for Norfolk Island are not sustainable.
The challenge for us is what to do about it.
We need to balance the national economic and social interests with the aspirations and capacity of the Norfolk Island community and government, while ensuring effective engagement with stakeholders.
Recently, I paid a visit to two of our very beautiful Territories - Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands.
In the foreseeable future, Christmas Island is facing the closure of its main industry - the phosphate mine.
While at the same time, the Immigration Detention Centre brings a renewed importance to the Island.
On the Cocos Keeling Islands, there are ongoing economic and environmental challenges, including climate change.
In 1984 the Government made an ongoing commitment to the Cocos Malay people, following their Act of Self Determination and integration with Australia, to provide services and a standard of living comparable to mainland Australia.
To meet these economic and environmental concerns, I've commissioned a range of research as part of the 'IOT Futures' project.
This research is the first step towards developing a new evidence-based policy position on the Indian Ocean Territories, not only to address environmental sustainability but also economic and social sustainability.
Here in the ACT, there have been longstanding tensions arising from self-government.
However, we are taking important steps to address them.
At my request, the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories is considering the strategic interests of the Commonwealth in planning in the ACT, and ways to remove duplication.
The Commonwealth is also actively working with the ACT to finally resolve the future management of Googong Dam.
And I'm keen that other issues of concern, such as the Northern Territory's ambitions for Statehood and the ACT's desire to loosen some restrictions, also receive focussed attention.
For example, if 20 years after self-government there is no need for the Commonwealth to restrict the size of the ACT Cabinet and Legislative Assembly, it is appropriate that - in the spirit of cooperative federalism - we address that.
We have our work cut out for us and I am sure I can count on each and every one of you to be a part of our plan for good and successful Government for all Australians.
This sort of plan shows the things we need to do with or thinking about government.
[1] ACT; Ashmore and Cartier Reefs; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Coral Sea; Jervis Bay Territory; Norfolk Island; NT. The Australian Antarctic Territory and Heard and McDonald Islands are managed by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.