The Hon John Hill, on being a Minister

07/08/24 • 62 min

In this episode, former state Minister for Health and the Arts (among others) the Hon John Hill, shares his insights into what Ministers want - and what they need - from the public service.
You can buy his book ‘On being a Minister’ here - and if you’re brave, share with your Minister!

Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers....
While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right.
If you want rigorous reporting on Robodebt, we recommend the work of Rick Morton at the Saturday Paper, Chris Knaus and Luke Henriques-Gomes at the Guardian, Ben Eltham at Crikey, Julian Bajkowski at The Mandarin, and of course, the Robodebt Royal Commission itself.
Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at [email protected].
Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music.
'Til next time!

Previous Episode

Andrew Podger AO: Is Thodey public sector reform on Steroids or Valium?

In this second interview with former Commonwealth Secretary and Australian Public Service Commissioner Andrew Podger AO, Danielle gets to chat about

The pros and cons of bringing all service delivery together in a single agency
The valuing of operational expertise v policy leadership
The role of portfolio budget practices in driving Robodebt
Cultures of challenge and diversity of thought
The future of public service reform.

References in the episode

Next Episode

Mr Bates v Post Office part 5 - prosecuting the innocent

A massive power imbalance, everyone doing the narrowest version of their jobs, and an overriding culture that assumed postmasters were thieves. These are just some of the ways Post Office ended up prosecuting postmasters for shortfalls that existed only on the computer.
Opening grab from Mr Beer KC (Counsel Assisting) and Rob Wilson, former Head of the Royal Mail Group Criminal Law Team.
Subsequent grab from Mr Beer KC and Helen Rose, former Post Office / Royal Mail Group Auditor.
Final grab from Andrew Wise, former Advisor in the Network Business Support Centre, Post Office.

For thorough and detailed reporting of the Post Office Scandal, start with the reporting of Nick Wallis, including his BBC podcast, the Great Post Office Trial.