October
- Analysis
- Analysis
Victoria’s $8b black box, stamped confidential
In 2022, pandemic-indebted Victoria sold its motor registry to a consortium led by Macquarie Bank. Two years later there is not much to show for it, and the secretive registry is free from scrutiny.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Analysis
From small budget changes, big things grow
Minor technical tweaks by government can drive big changes. Including the economic benefits of First Nations culture into NSW budgeting is a game-changer.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Productivity
Why measuring public sector productivity is so slippery
When Productivity Commission researchers examined past assessments of the health system’s productivity earlier this year, they were pleasantly surprised.
- Tom Burton
September
Australia’s new pandemic playbook
On the eve of the release of the national COVID-19 review, 10 key actions have emerged for when a similar pathogen hits Australia.
- Tom Burton
True blue dilemma: what makes a business Australian?
As the Albanese government prepares to throw billions of dollars at its signature Made in Australia scheme, there is no agreed definition on what makes an Australian business.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Prisons
How to unlock the productivity power of a forgotten sector
There is a renewed push to get better value from the vast array of government services that make up around 20 per cent of the economy.
- Tom Burton
August
- Opinion
- Analysis
A culture war is the least of the census’ problems. Let’s get rid of it
A ditched plan to include questions about the LGBTQ community in the census has raised questions about the future of the $600 million big five-yearly national survey.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Government IT
The $340m government IT disaster no one cared about
The idea was simple enough: one back-office system to better co-ordinate all government departments. A decade later, the plan has been abandoned at big public expense.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Analysis
The story behind the click-to-prove revolution
Bill Shorten’s ambitious move to enable an economy wide digital verification system marks a major shift towards giving citizens power over their own data.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Public service
Hybrid working mishmash for 1.7m government workers across Australia
The NSW government’s push for public servants to work from their offices has left a jumble of work arrangements for the nation’s largest employers.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Victor Dominello
Five projects to fix Australia’s productivity woes
The answer to the nation’s sagging productivity is staring us in the face says former NSW minister Victor Dominello.
- Tom Burton
July
- Analysis
- Enterprise IT
Tech meltdown revealed a fundamental flaw in plain sight
The global CrowdStrike breakdown revealed just how much of the global IT system is built on inherently unsafe code.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Democracy
Why competent government is the answer to political extremism
The US has its unique national blind spot for guns, but as two reports on social cohesion and democracy point out, the ingredients of division and extremism have been rising everywhere.
- Updated
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Open banking
Canberra’s $1b digital identity play could be the next white elephant
The failure of open banking and the poor uptake of My Health Record offer a salutary warning for the government’s digital ID system.
- Tom Burton
May
- Analysis
- Gender equality
They battled blokey workplaces. Now these 33 women enforce the rules
Energy regulator Clare Savage and competition chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb are among 33 women leading Australia’s regulatory bodies, once the domain of male enforcers.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Analysis
The real reason for spending $1b on PsiQuantum
Defence planners have long worried how vulnerable military information systems are to GPS being taken out by an adversary.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Analysis
Labor’s green superpower plan will need a new public service
Expertise in green hydrogen, photonic quantum physics, large-scale lithium batteries and next-generation mineralogy are not skills you typically see on Canberra CVs.
- Tom Burton
- Analysis
- Analysis
Nordic paradox: how male resentment fuels domestic abuse
Closing gender pay gaps fuels domestic violence, pointing to the deep challenges to stop the societal scourge.
- Tom Burton
April
- Analysis
- Analysis
The domestic violence red flags the system can’t see
Tragically, domestic homicide of partners is proving to be highly predictable. If only there was the data to show the red flags before violence erupts.
- Tom Burton
- Opinion
- Public service
The Senate’s mock outrage games shame all
Threatening corporate leaders with jail time over an accounting contrivance is part of a trend where the national parliament is becoming a theatre for showboating and mock outrage.
- Tom Burton
