Mick Keelty

Tensions around the Murray-Darling Basin are rising as the basin with state government ultimatums and threats of physical violence towards ministers and staff by local communities. State and federal ministers have reportedly been assisted by police when visiting parts of the river system due to spouts of aggression.

The Department of Agriculture’s responsibilities for water policy and resources will be taken over by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development from December 1.

Following revelations of a failing water management system in 2017, regulators have been fighting back against water theft with new tools. This includes a combination of satellite imagery, metering, telemetry and human observation, explained representatives of both federal and state water regulators at the ANZSOG regulators’ forum earlier this month. And one of these is […]

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is under investigation for publishing a draft report the minister says was “incorrect” but cannot explain how. Murray-Darling Inspector-General Mick Keelty has been asked to probe the MDBA’s publishing processes after agricultural lobby groups led a swift and hyperbolic backlash against the first version of a report on efforts to track […]

Queensland claims it’s fixing a misguided machinery-of-government change from the previous regime, but behind the rhetoric is a story of bipartisan public sector reform, informed by complementary expert advice.

Public agency reform watchers should add the Australian Election Commission’s Senate Estimates hearing tomorrow to their diary. Commissioner Tom Rogers will outline how he’s turning the place around.