This Month
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Tech meltdown revealed a fundamental flaw in plain sight
The global CrowdStrike breakdown revealed just how much of the global IT system is built on inherently unsafe code.
- Tom Burton
Senate urged to pass NDIS bill to get reforms back on track
Disability advocates have called for reforms to the NDIS to be passed despite protests that some recommendations could be catastrophic for the severely disabled.
- Tom Burton
- Opinion
- Canberra Observed
Middle Australia is indeed the lucky country
A suite of new data sources has enabled the Productivity Commission to revise its measure of economic mobility. The result surprised everyone.
- Tom Burton
- Exclusive
- Biosecurity
Avian flu surveillance to be upped amid fears of spring outbreaks
A $7 million package of federal initiatives is to be rolled out to prepare for possible outbreaks of the highly dangerous H5N1 avian flu strain
- Tom Burton
Surge in NDIS top-up claims costing $5.5m a day
The number of NDIS participants seeking unscheduled top-ups has jumped by 50 per cent as landmark reforms to control galloping costs are stalled in the Senate
- Tom Burton
Small consulting firms to get a leg-up from new Canberra rules
An overhaul to federal government procurement rules means agencies must now seek quotes from at least one small firm when seeking consultancy services.
- Tom Burton
June
Salesforce slammed for lavish gifts, meals with NDIA
The business software giant spent thousands on golf games, high-end meals and gifts for public servants while managing a $135 million contract.
- Tom McIlroy
Men still winning the best-paid federal jobs
The Commonwealth public sector leads the private sector on gender equity, but women still earn $19,000 less on average.
- Tom Burton
Fights over pay rises challenge a bold prediction in NSW budget
A $10.7 billion windfall from soaring property taxes will pay for more public servants but won’t stop NSW posting deficits for nine straight years and risking its AAA credit rating.
- Updated
- John Kehoe and David Marin-Guzman
Consultants to lose $5.76b of UK government work
Public sector consultants are under attack in the UK, following a pullback on their use by the Australian government.
- Simon Foy
- Opinion
- Regulation
The man who made economic rationalism popular
Working out how to lower his household water bill set Professor Tom Parry on the road to lowering prices for electricity, water and transport in NSW.
- Michael Easson
- Updated
- Disability
‘Too late to prosecute’: Fraud rife among NDIS managers
The integrity chief for the NDIS says nine out of 10 plan managers surveyed showed “significant indicators of fraud” including using scheme money for drugs and alcohol.
- Tom Burton
This tiny government office is gunning for the big four
The nascent group says it can’t keep up with demand for its services, and will assist the Defence Department as it sets up its own consulting division.
- Maxim Shanahan
May
They battled blokey workplaces. Now these 33 women enforce the rules
Energy regulator Clare Savage and competition chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb are among 33 women leading Australia’s regulatory bodies, once the domain of male enforcers.
- Tom Burton
Anti-vax claims flood Senate inquiry. Officials say they’re wrong
The ABS, Health Department and actuaries say there is no evidence to support claims there were more deaths from non-COVID causes due to government vaccine mandates during the pandemic.
- Tom Burton
Crisis-focused Home Affairs fails to prepare for security threats
A review of the $6.3 billion Home Affairs department has found it is too focused on crisis management, and lacks the trust of other key intelligence agencies.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Government Observed
The real reason for spending $1b on PsiQuantum
Defence planners have long worried how vulnerable military information systems are to GPS being taken out by an adversary.
- Tom Burton
NDIS reforms can’t wait for a ‘magical unicorn day’: Shorten
Disability Minister Bill Shorten says premiers should stop using disabled people as a political football, after the states called for delays to NDIS reforms.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Government Observed
Labor’s green superpower plan will need a new public service
Expertise in green hydrogen, photonic quantum physics, large-scale lithium batteries and next-generation mineralogy are not skills you typically see on Canberra CVs.
- Tom Burton
Contractors in the firing line as public service headcount soars
The number of bureaucrats has increased nearly 10 per cent in one year alone and some $1.8 billion has been allocated to overhaul staffing at Services Australia.
- Tom Burton