Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

Professor Geoff Gallop AC encapsulates the challenges and dilemmas facing modern publicservices in Australia in the following terms:On the one hand, we ask them to be fully accountable and yet on the other hand weask them to be creative and innovative.On the one hand we ask them to be efficient and on the other we insist that they beeffective and produce real change in the community.On the one hand, we ask them to be inspirational and purposeful in respect of theiragency responsibilities and on the other, we expect them to join up, co-operate andcompromise with others.And finally, we ask them to perform to particular targets and at the same time to beagile and flexible in the way they operate.Just to complicate matters even further it should be noted that all of this occurs in thecontext of ministerial edginess and media pressure, hardly an environment conduciveto clear and rational thought and action. 48It might be argued that these challenges are even more acutely felt in Canberra than they areelsewhere because the ACT is largely comprised of a highly educated, internet savvy, humanrights conscious community with very high expectations in relation to both participation andservice delivery. The operation of the Human Rights Act 2004 49 should in this context serveas a spur towards best practice decision making in the ACTPS: decision making that is fair,robust, objective, and respects, protects and promotes human rights.This draws into focus a defining feature of the ACT’s governance arrangements. Because ofthe ACT Government’s small size, the relationship between Ministers and their offices, andofficials, is very close, and perhaps on occasion lacks the professional distance present inlarger jurisdictions. While this closeness has its drawbacks, it also creates opportunities forenhancing coherence of approach and alignment of effort.Similarly, the size of Canberra, and nature of politics in the ACT, means that Ministers havea close and open relationship with their constituents (including in the supermarket aisle). Thesmall scale of the ACT offers advantages in establishing and sustaining whole of governmentstrategies and with a Cabinet of five, policy communication and coordination should be anACT Government strength.As a similar function of size – the relationship between Ministers’ offices and officials isclose and staff on both sides of that relationship need to be cognisant of their differences andthe boundaries of appropriate action and behaviour. There is much to be gained from close48 Gallop, G. (2007) “Agile Government” Paper Presented at the Agile Government Roundtable State Services Authority andDemos 11 October 2007http://www.ssa.vic.gov.au/CA2571410025903D/WebObj/agile_government_geoff_gallop/$File/agile_government_geoff_gallop.pdf p.2.49 See http://www.legislation.act.gov.au/a/2004-5/default.aspGoverning the City State: 58