#polliticians — Public Fediverse posts

This is very concerning and goes to the heart of #Democracy and what is meant by the term.
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1 hour ago 11.58 AEST

Secrecy bid from some of the most powerful covert operatives in Australia – senior bureaucrats
Bill Browne

Earlier this year, an Australia Institute freedom of information (FOI) request revealed that the Attorney-General’s Department had been holding back information from the public.

Their apparent motive was to escape tricky questions at Senate Estimates, the rare opportunity that democratically elected representatives get to ask questions of government officials.

Now, the secretaries who head government departments are suggesting footage from Senate Estimates should not even make it online.

In a parliamentary submission, the Secretaries Board (departmental heads) have suggested either preventing the use of committee evidence on social media altogether, or requiring committee evidence to be published without editing or captions.

They complain that public servants have been accused of “‘hiding’ things, ‘covering up’ for the government, or ‘being a liar’.”

The problem, of course, is that senior public servants do sometimes hide things and cover up – not just for the government, but to serve their own interests as well. Departments spend time and money training public servants to dodge Estimates questions. And when they do so, ridicule (though never abuse) is an appropriate response.

Last year, then Australian Public Service Commissioner Gordon de Brouwer said public servants were writing their “genuine thoughts” on Post It notes so they could never become public knowledge. The Public Service Commissioner is supposed to be the “steward” of public service integrity, but it took senators to remind him that this was an illegal breach of the public service’s obligation to keep accurate records.

Public service delegations at Senate Estimates are generally fronted by deputy secretaries or secretaries. They are the elite 0.1% of the public service, in sought-after roles of significant power and influence. It is entirely appropriate that they are subjected to public scrutiny.

In other words, there is a power imbalance when a senator questions a secretary or deputy secretary – but it is the public servant who likely wields much more power than the senator and is invariably paid more.

Of course, parliamentary questioning is not always kind or constructive. There are politicians who could do better on social media. But Senate Estimates is a key accountability mechanism for these organisations and the executive government more generally. So long as public servants deliberately hide information, open questioning will remain a necessity so the public can find out what is being done in their name.”
https://live.thepoint.com.au/#8fe433f938

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