Every Tuesday, an expert from The Ethics Centre offers advice on ethical issues impacting public servants. This week’s question:
“I work in one of the larger federal government departments and truly believe the country will be better if the Voice referendum succeeds. I want to actively campaign for the Yes side but am worried colleagues and others might accuse me of being ‘too political’. What do suggest I should do?”
Today’s answer comes from Dr Tim Dean, senior philosopher at The Ethics Centre:
You are not just a public servant, you are also a citizen. That means you have the same right as any other citizen to express genuinely held ethical views and campaign for causes you believe in. However, your role and duties as a public servant do place some bounds on how and where you are able to express your views.
The public service is valued because it is designed to serve the interests of the Australian public rather than the interests of any one individual or group. In order to achieve that goal, it must be apolitical. Indeed, to maintain public trust in the public service, it’s not enough to just be apolitical, you also must avoid the perception of allowing political views to compromise your impartiality. Regrettably, the Voice referendum has become politicised, with the Yes and No campaigns being associated with particular political parties, so it is difficult to speak about one’s views without being seen to be speaking politically.
That said, you are not prohibited from participating in political activities outside of your role as a public servant. You can even run for office. However, it is crucial that you do not allow your personal political activity to influence – or be seen to influence – the work that you do. This might mean avoiding campaigning at all if your role is connected in any way to the referendum or the implementation of any related policies. And if your role is unrelated to the referendum, you must still clearly delineate your private political activity from your professional role.
So, were you to campaign outside of work for the Yes campaign, it’s important that you do nothing that might indicate that your view is shared or endorsed by the public service. You should also be careful how you express yourself when operating within your role. That means avoiding campaigning within your workplace or even wearing something that might be perceived as being political.
There is only so much you can do about how your colleagues regard your campaigning outside of work, but you can be up front about how seriously you take your responsibilities as a public servant, and make a visible effort to show that your views on the Voice do not affect your work. In fact, making that visible effort in this regard would be a sign that you respect your colleagues and your shared commitment to the values of the public service.
Ultimately, if you feel that your role as a public servant is preventing you from expressing your deeply held ethical views, then you need to make a decision about which one takes priority. It might be a high price to pay, but people have been known to leave a job because it doesn’t align with their values, or their role prevents them from expressing their values.
If you have an ethical question for one of The Ethics Centre’s team of experts, send it to media@themandarin.com.au.
The Ethics Centre is an independent not-for-profit that advocates for a more ethical society. If you’re struggling to find the path forward on an ethical conflict at work or at home, there is a service that can help. Ethi-call, run by The Ethics Centre, is a free helpline dedicated to guiding people through life’s hardest choices.
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