Criticising the public service is a national past time in Australia. Few people have a good thing to say about the federal of state public services. I am one of the critics and I stand by my often savage criticisms. Like many people my public service experiences, as a ‘customer’ or citizen are much less […]

Criticising the public service is a national past time in Australia. Few people have a good thing to say about the federal of state public services. I am one of the critics and I stand by my often savage criticisms. Like many people my public service experiences, as a ‘customer’ or citizen are much less than ideal. Having said that, my experiences as a supplier has been much more variable and often very impressive indeed. There are some excellent and unheralded people in the public service. These experiences have taught me that public servants are not that different to anyone else in terms of their desire to do the right thing and provide excellent service. Further, with one exception, they are as well equipped as anyone in the private sector to deliver great outcomes. The one exception, in my view is the ‘unethical attitude of government’. All large organisations struggle…