15 hours ago
‘Just wrong': State government seeks to draft public servants into WFH campaign
This masthead was provided the material by senior public servants who cannot comment publicly as a condition of their employment but privately expressed frustration they were being asked to promote government policy.
Associate Professor William Partlett, an expert in public law at the Melbourne Law School, said the government was treating the public service as an extension of its political party work rather than a provider of independent advice.
'When I see this, I think cartel party,' Partlett said.
'This is part of a pattern, and it is one we should be concerned about. It reflects a broader problem concern – the erosion of Westminster principles and the centralisation of authority.'
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A cartel party, a concept coined by the late Irish political scientist Peter Mair, is where a dominant political party co-opts the apparatus and resources of the state to cement its power.
Dr Colleen Lewis, an honorary professor at the Australian Studies Institute at the Australian National University, was more blunt.
'It is just wrong,' she said.
'The public service is obliged to be non-partisan and governments should respect that requirement. The government should not be canvassing the public sector to support an idea that hasn't been through the parliamentary process.'
Opposition spokesman for financial integrity and budget repair David Davis said he would refer the matter to Victoria's public service watchdog, the Public Sector Commission.
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'It is clear that the Allan Labor government and its senior officers have crossed the line politicising the consultation process of its WFH proposals through a highly political intervention and enlisting the public service to deliberately skew consultation,' Davis said.
'The public service is meant to give frank and fearless advice, not act a spruiker for the Allan Labor government.'
Jiselle Hanna, the Victorian branch secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, described the material provided to this masthead as 'problematic' and said it appeared the government was using public servants for its political objectives.
Hanna said the requirement for public servants to remain apolitical was inconsistently applied in Victoria, with bureaucrats encouraged to promote the Voice referendum, same-sex marriage plebiscite and working-from-home rights, but gagged from commenting about the war in Gaza.
'Our obligation is to implement the government's agenda because they are the ones elected,' she said. 'This isn't what we are being asked to do in relation to working from home. What we are being asked to do is promote an idea to another person. I think it is a problematic development.
'Are we being used and our networks being used to do a bit of promotion for the government? It certainly looks like it.'
This masthead provided questions to Allan and Victoria's public service chief, Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule.
A department spokesperson said government surveys and consultations were regularly promoted between departments. 'The Victorian Public Service is one of the largest employers in Victoria and it is important they have an opportunity to participate in the working from home survey,' the spokesperson said.
Working from home is widely accepted practice across the Victorian Public Service. Under the current enterprise agreement covering the public service, bureaucrats whose jobs can be done from home can do so a minimum of two days a week. Treasurer Jaclyn Symes this week confirmed the true rate of working from home across the public service was likely higher.
Hanna said that as a workplace issue, work from home was settled across the public service. At June 30 last year, 57,345 people were employed in the Victorian Public Service.
Pollster Jim Reed, the founder of the Resolve Political Monitor survey of voting intentions published by this masthead, examined the survey this week and said the results, if and when they are published, should be treated with caution.
'This sort of open survey form can be completed by anyone, and they might be a real Victorian answering honestly, or it might be others completing multiple responses to force a certain result,' Reed said.
'This is why we run statistically sampled polls of the population. It's only then you can be certain that you're getting a true picture, no matter how well the questions are designed.'
Davis described the survey as a faux consultation.
'Labor is seeking to stack the results with favourable comments and few criticisms by sending material to special target audiences likely to support the government's view,' he said.
'We will refer this matter to the Public Sector Commission to ensure rules are obeyed and guidelines for neutrality are observed.'
