You’d hope that one of the big things Scott Morrison learnt in 2020 was to have more respect and trust in his public servants. After all, they must get much of the credit for helping him – and the premiers – respond to the pandemic far more successfully than most other rich countries. What Morrison did right was take their advice.
This has robbed the public service – and its political masters – of much benefit from its institutional memory of what works and what doesn’t. The government prefers to get its advice from the young people with political ambitions employed to help in ministers’ offices.These young punks act as intermediaries between the minister and his department. Their great attraction is their loyalty to the party. They tend to be a lot stronger on political tactics than policy detail.
Where does a bunch of auditors and tax agents find the expertise to advise on quite specialised issues of public policy? They hire – at much higher salaries - some of the redundant public servants who know all there is to know on particular topics. The Libs’ paranoid tribalism blinds them to the plain truth that the public service takes professional pride in wholeheartedly supporting the government of the day, while suppressing their personal political preferences.
You couldn’t have picked a crisis more likely to bust the Libs out of their I-don’t-need-any-advice hang-up than the pandemic. There’s no recent precedent and it’s full of technicalities. Who thinks they’re smart enough to tell a doctor they’re wrong?
1RossGittins Liberals see conspiracy around every corner
JaneCaro 1RossGittins The coalition are vultures circling the carcass of the society they have left dying
JaneCaro 1RossGittins Howard started the denigration of the Public Service by stating it was 'not the servant of the public', but the 'servant of the government of the day'. I remember very well being horrified - but it barely ruffled a feather.
1RossGittins Well.... they're not wrong.
JaneCaro 1RossGittins The PM is not the man for the job he has. Most of the nation despises him.
1RossGittins Coalition see public servant 's as a unnecessary cost to the budget, they would rather give tax cuts to the high end of town.
1RossGittins It is normal for the LNP to be hostile towards public servants as they want them to do what they want rather than take advice as to what is the best option for government.
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