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PM Morrison wants public service to adopt the military's Code of Honour - and much more

Monday, 19 August 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has delivered an important speech to his Ministers and the Public Service today.
It's long overdue.
He speaks about accountability at length.
He makes it very clear that Ministers are the bosses - accountable to electors. And Ministers are in charge of public servants.
He puts weak Ministers on notice.
Likewise public servants who overreach.
I hope this marks the start of significant cultural change in the public service.
That change must come from the top - with strong leadership and consequences for both good and bad behaviours.
I've published the speech in full below - but as I was reading the speech I thought it was worth highlighting these extracts:

"Honour the code"

It’s something that I observed amongst the veteran’s community, and I take, and I’d encourage you to take your lesson from them, and our serving men and women in the ADF. They are bound together by a code, an unbreakable code. That sees them act at the highest levels of integrity under the most extreme levels of pressure. It is that code that keeps them together and where that code fails or where that code breaks, then we know what the consequences of that can be.
It’s about governance and integrity across the service.

On lobbyists

There are many highly organised and well-resourced interests in our democracy. They come to Canberra often. They are on the airwaves, they’re on the news channels. They meet regularly with politicians, advisers and departments to advance the policy ideas and causes on behalf of those who they represent.
Some will be corporate interests. Some will be advocating for more welfare spending or bigger social programs. Many will be looking for a bigger slice of government resources.
Yet the vast majority of Australians will never come to Canberra to lobby government. They won’t stay at the Hyatt. They won’t have lunch at the Ottoman. They won’t kick back at the Chairman’s Lounge at Canberra airport after a day of meetings.
And what these Australians who don’t do those things do every day is work hard. They pay their taxes. They put their kids through school. They look after their families. They give back to their communities and they are the centre of my focus as PM and my Government.

The role of Ministers

And on the critical relationship between Ministers, their staff and the bureaucracy, let me underscore what I have said directly to all of my Ministers. I expect my Ministers to be demanding. I also expect them and all of their staff to discharge their responsibilities with the highest standards of professionalism and within a values framework of mutual respect. And where that isn’t occurring, there are ways and processes to deal with that.
It is also about respecting the fact that responsibility for setting policy, for making those calls and decisions lies with the elected representatives of the people, and expecting Ministers to provide that leadership and direction.
Now this imposes an important responsibility, I think, on Ministers. And I’ve made this very clear to my Ministers. They must be clear in what they are asking of the public service. They must not allow a policy leadership vacuum to be created, and expect the public service to fill it and do effectively the job of Ministers.
One of the worst criticisms I can tell you, in the locker room of politicians, that one politician can make of another, is that they’ve become a captive of their department as a Minister. Now that is not a reflection on the department, not at all, not at all, but indeed on the Minister. It speaks to a Minister not driving their policy agenda. Nature abhors a vacuum just as much here in Canberra as anywhere else. And it will get filled. And I expect my Ministers to be in the center driving policy agendas for their agencies and departments. And so I’ve selected and tasked my Ministers top set and drive the agenda of the Government. I believe the public have a similar expectation of my Ministers as well.

On diversity

I believe a commitment to diversity should encompass diversity of viewpoints within the APS. There is compelling evidence that this helps teams find answers to complex problems by bringing together people who approach questions from different points of view.
The American academic Jonathan Haidt has made this point powerfully in challenging worrying trends toward conformity in the university sector. And I think his observations are relevant to the future of our public service.
It’s vital that the APS avoid the sort of stale conventional wisdoms and orthodoxies that can infuse all large organisations.

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Martin.
Can I also join you in welcoming my colleagues who are here today, Greg Hunt who is also the Minister assisting me for the public service, to Ben Morton, to Zen Seselja, and to those who may be linking in from other places.
Can I also Martin, place on record my appreciation and that of the Government and all the Governments’ if I can be so bold, to say that you’ve served- for your service, can I thank you for your advice personally, and can I thank you for your dedication to the welfare of the Australian people over an outstanding public service career.
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