Thodey’s email gives Gaetjens pat on the back for APS reform gains

Former PM&C boss Phil Gaetjens has published praise heaped on him in a private email correspondence from David Thodey last July in response to what he called ‘unfair criticisms’ about how reforms the government had accepted were progressing.

A review of the Australian Public Service led by David Thodey and published in late 2019 is often cited as a guiding light in capability and reform discussions among mandarins about how to lift public administration. So it was interesting to see Gaetjens use a 2021 email from Thodey to show his efforts as the nation’s top bureaucrat were endorsed by at least some in the know.