Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's really interesting the way we talk about the Public Service in this chamber. There are some quite different and diverging views. I want to put on the record, as we debate this bill, the high regard that we on this side of the chamber have for the Public Service, for the public servants whose job it is to look after so many aspects of people's lives in the way they relate to the operation of federal agencies and departments.

When I think of public servants, particularly of those who work in my electorate and live in my electorate, there's huge diversity. I think about the people in Centrelink offices, who, in Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains, have been the ones to respond and try and help people through the processes when a bushfire hits, when a storm hits and wipes out their home and has it sliding down a hill, or when floods come. These Centrelink staff are among the first that I think of, because they have had a really challenging few years, particularly in our electorate. I also think of the team of people who administer and try and support people through the National Disability Insurance Scheme process.

Now, we know that the processes are not always as simple as they could be and the public servants who work on them face challenges but are working so hard to try to make it accessible. I see that particularly around the NDIS. I also think about it when there are Medicare or My Aged Care issues and people go seek help. All the people who are trying to help my constituents—in fact, many of them are my constituents working in these offices, working in their local community, serving their local community—are public servants. We also have a huge range of people who work in our Defence Forces—civilian workers around the Richmond RAAF base, around Glenbrook RAAF base and living scattered throughout the electorate of Macquarie. This is not to mention those who are being helped by workers at the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

I think about the tax office and the myriad public servants that we are privileged to have living in the electorate of Macquarie, and I take my hat off to the work they do. I also say to the union that supports them, the CPSU, that the work they do elevates the issues, brings to light the things that are not working and makes systems better for their workers and also for the wider community. That's why I am very pleased to be speaking in support of the Public Service Amendment Bill 2023, which will amend the Public Service Act 1999 to deliver enduring, transformational change and to ensure that the Australian Public Service is well placed to serve the Australian government, the parliament and, very importantly, the Australian public into the future.

To strengthen the Australian Public Service's core purpose and values, the bill will do a number of things, and I will talk about each of those. Actually, I am going to step back for one moment to think about why we've actually gone down this path, because many of the proposed amendments in here were recommendations of the 2019 independent review of the Australian Public Service—that's the Thodey review—or go to the intent of that review and haven't been acted on previously. There are other amendments that have been drawn from observations about public administration from governments at a state level or even overseas, and of course they've been informed by engagement within and beyond the APS. That includes with APS employees, the CPSU, agency heads, experts and interested parties, including input from the general public. I think it's important to know that this has been done based on a lot of information and a lot of feedback and engagement.

In terms of the areas that the bill will strengthen, the first is the APS value of stewardship. The proposed amendment will add a new APS value of stewardship alongside the existing APS Values, which public servants will be required to uphold at all times. There are currently five existing APS Values: being committed to service, ethical, respectful, accountable and impartial—all the things we would expect when engaging with those who work in the Public Service. The proposed amendment adds the following supporting statement to clarify the meaning of the new APS value of stewardship:

The APS builds its capability and institutional knowledge, and supports the public interest now and into the future, by understanding the long-term impacts of what it does.

The APS Values are designed to provide a philosophical underpinning for the APS; to reflect public expectation of the relationship between public servants and the government, the parliament and the community; and articulate the culture and operating ethos of the APS. Under the Public Service Act, secretaries, the APS Commissioner and the Secretaries Board are required to act as stewards of their department and in partnership of the APS. The Thodey review found that legislating stewardship would give it broader application to guide the enduring role of the Australian Public Service. Enshrining stewardship ensures that APS employees are able to see how their individual behaviours contribute to the stewardship of the APS. I know that this part of the bill is welcomed by the CPSU, which points out that, as a knowledge based institution, the Public Service's most valuable asset is its people, and it's right that that's a consideration for any government or agency heads going forward.

The second change that is being proposed in this bill is to require the secretaries to oversee the development of a single unifying APS purpose statement and review it at once every five years. All agency heads will be required to uphold and promote this purpose statement. The purpose statement helps to unify the service behind a common vision, representing and influenced by the contemporary, diverse and innovative APS and community. The requirement to review it every five years ensures that it stays contemporary, up to date and responsive to the changing views and expectations of government and community. This is another one of the sections of this bill that is highly supported by the CPSU, who particularly support the involvement of employees in the development of a purpose statement. The work on the first one is underway now. When you think about APS employees being the face of the public sector and having broad experience and expertise in providing services to the community, it is really beneficial that their voices, experience and contribution are recognised and heard through the purpose statement.

The next section of the bill I want to talk about is around ministerial directions on APS employment matters. The amendment that we're proposing here omits the previous wording, 'An agency head is not subject to direction by any minister', and it substitutes for it, 'A minister must not direct an agency head.' Under the proposed amendment to section 19, the clause is being redrafted from the passive voice to the active voice. I've spent a lot of my life as a journalist and then, in my own business, thinking about language and the power that it has, and people like me will appreciate that shift from passive to active says a lot. I can see my colleague across the way, the member for Fisher, has his head stuck in a book, thinking about these very issues.

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