Consequences are coming, as a former Australian Public Service commissioner and commonwealth secretary has been brought in to carry the next phase of the robodebt royal commission forward.
Isn’t it amazing how swiftly things can move when there is a will and mandate?
It took a single weekend for Professor Glyn Davis and Dr Gordon de Brouwer to name their man who will independently review and consider which public servants with their sticky fingerprints on the illegal robodebt should be hit with sanctions.
On Monday, three days after the government made Catherine Holmes’ damning robodebt royal commission report public, the top mandarins announced Stephen Sedgwick as their choice to pursue those public servants who had adverse findings made against them.
In a process permitted by the Public Service Act 1999, Sedgwick’s work will be overseen by the APSC and will determine if public servants with adverse findings have breached the APS Code of Conduct.
“This process … is designed to be fair, independent, and consistent. Mr Sedgwick will make inquiries and determinations about whether an individual referred for inquiry has breached the APS code of conduct,” the leaders said in a statement.
Sedgwick served as secretary of the federal finance, employment and education departments between 1992 and 2002. After some time as an academic at the University of Melbourne, where he was a director of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, he was appointed APS commissioner from 2009-2014.
After a long period of inaction in the shadow of a 2019 federal decision that the punitive government scheme was illegal, it has been a long time coming.
Now, with the findings of Holmes’ royal commission inquiry, the bureaucracy can start cleansing itself of the cultural and capability liabilities that worked against the people it was meant to protect and serve: the community.
PM&C, together with the Attorney-General’s Department and APSC, have established a separate taskforce to support government ministers with their response to Holmes’ 57 recommendations.
“We reiterate the continuing importance of an effective working relationship between the APS and the government,” the APS leaders said.
Davis and de Brouwer happen to be two of the architects of the 2019 Thodey review, which was being written as the illegal robodebt scandal was found to be a massive failure of public administration.
Arguably, their thinking about how to deal with the shameful tangle of public service ineptitude was nurtured at the height of robodebt’s controversy in the public consciousness, and the steps to follow now are a matter of getting on with reform.
“We want you to know the Australian Public Service takes the royal commission’s findings seriously.
“We are committed to working through the findings in an open and constructive way with you — the APS — and with the Australian public,” the men said.
“Integrity and stewardship are integral to the work of the APS, our responsibilities serving the community, and the trust the community places in us.”
For those public servants who were struggling with the intense — however justified — negative reporting about their profession, Davis and de Brouwer advised reaching out to their home agency EAP, or contacting any one of the three 24/7 support services Beyond Blue (1300 224 636), Lifeline Crisis Support (13 11 14), or 13YARN (13 92 76).
The PM&C secretary and APS commissioner also thanked the bureaucracy for their “ongoing commitment to embodying the APS values” in every aspect of their work.
“We will continue to talk with you about the government’s response and what it means for you.
“We echo the prime minister’s thanks for the many public servants who assisted the commission,” they said.
“We know the vast majority of public servants are committed to providing quality advice and dedicated service consistent with the APS values and code of conduct.
“Australians see the important and meaningful work that you and your agencies do every day, and the professional and diligent way you do it.”
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Robodebt royal commission savages impotent government lawyers, APSC takes next steps
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