Practice makes perfect in the world of government consultants

Janice Black writes: As soon as upon a time grasping criminals robbed banks. Now they discover robbing taxpayers a lot simpler (“A cartoon, Anzac day, a diary scheduler: the general public service can’t go to the bathroom with out utilizing consultants”), with the federal government trying the opposite means whereas these massive companies have their palms within the until. It’s about time that until drawer was slammed shut, hopefully breaking a number of wrists right here and there.

The federal government must announce that PwC won’t ever once more be used as consultants, sending a message to different consultants by doing so. However does Finance Minister Katy Gallagher have the ticker for that? I doubt it. Too fearful of a backlash. However she and the federal government don’t realise that there will likely be no backlash from voters — and there are a lot of thousands and thousands extra of them than firm executives. The general public will likely be delighted to see some power of objective from politicians.

The place do these criminals come from that they are often so blatantly grasping, dishonest, vicious and bullying? How arduous is it for these consultancy companies to separate consultancy to governments from their consumer base of tax dodgers? It beggars perception {that a} advisor to the Australian Tax Workplace may then promote the secrets and techniques to tax dodgers. Two separate arms of a enterprise are in no way troublesome.

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We’re worse off underneath this Labor authorities than we had been underneath the Coalition. I’m from an extended line of Labor voters — Labor is our ancestral dwelling, however not. We will likely be voting Greens subsequent federal election except Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will get some braveness from someplace to disregard the small phase of very noisy teams.

 The mainstream media should not have the ability they as soon as needed to elect politicians. This was proved up to now few years by all of the elections that Labor gained regardless of the vitriol, or possibly due to it, that the Murdoch press threw at it — significantly the Herald Solar. Australia is a sea of purple and the federal government appears to not perceive what this implies. It means we wish change however are simply getting extra of the identical.

Anne Robinson writes: I used to work on the Division of Veterans’ Affairs, and it had a small however very efficient staff of people that organised commemoration ceremonies and occasions in Australia and abroad in battlefields the place Australians had fought. I’m shocked however not shocked to listen to it’s now utilizing consultants to do this.

So many roles within the public service have been finished away with as a result of effectivity dividend robbing departments of funding yearly. Departments take a look at small, non-client-facing groups and simply say: “Do we actually want a commemorations staff?” In fact we do, however it’s axed, and earlier than you already know it we’re handing cash to the personal sector to just do that.

It’s a shame. I’m hoping the PwC scandal will change that, however we’ll see.

Greg Hodges writes: All nicely and good to suggest stricter guidelines, laws, fines, and so forth., however will there be a rise within the investigation and prosecution of those massive modifications (“Will Labor’s crackdown on the large 3.5 go the best way of earlier re-regulatory moments?”)? Or will they be decreased to make sure that the modifications are ineffective? Stronger guidelines and penalties however fewer police and prosecutors?

Peter Barry writes: The battle of curiosity between a agency advising authorities on tax regulation whereas on the identical time devising methods for its enterprise purchasers to keep away from the complete influence of any proposed regulation is evident and unacceptable. The expertise to plan efficient and unchallengeable regulation must be introduced in-house.  

Such legal guidelines might have to be tweaked to rectify real “unintended penalties”, however the authorities should all the time retain the ability to have the ultimate say and counter crafty enterprise workarounds that undermine the intent of the laws. 

Even a 10-year-old may see the failings in lots of the too-clever-by-half schemes which have been utilized by massive enterprise to keep away from tax within the latest previous. 

Geoff Edwards writes: Steerage may help, however the bedrock of an sincere, frank and fearless public service is safety of tenure (“Robodebt proves public servants want steering to face as much as abuses of energy“). Australia is paying a bitter value for having scrapped safety of tenure about twenty years in the past. Public servants whose jobs might be worn out by a vindictive, dishonest, politicised or incompetent supervisor with out formalised disciplinary procedures can’t be anticipated to face as much as stated incompetent supervisor. It’s not only for need of braveness; it’s that insecure appointment bakes politicisation into the system. 

Safety of tenure might be restored rapidly by statute and coverage, whereas cultural change and coaching to reverse two, three or 4 many years of politicisation will take a few years. Safety of tenure shouldn’t be adequate, however it’s important.