Honours list papers to stay suppressed

Emma Macdonald, Markus Mannheim The secret papers that detail how Australia Day honours are allotted will remain suppressed after a court ruled the public had no right to access them.

Immigration review exposes risk of failure

Markus Mannheim THE crisis-ridden Immigration Department is poorly managed, its workers mistrust each other and its executives' financial illiteracy poses serious risks, an independent review has warned.

PS numbers defy the axe

Markus Mannheim The federal bureaucracy continued to grow earlier this year despite the toughest crackdown on spending in more than a decade and at a time when many agencies were retrenching staff.

Few know of religious exemption

Markus Mannheim Most people are unaware religious schools can sack teachers who are gay or who have children outside of marriage, a survey says.

Comments 29

Extra public service recruits in Swan's revision

Markus Mannheim The federal government has offered the bureaucracy a slight reprieve from its austerity drive, funding an extra 1300 full-time jobs this financial year.

Comments 7

Officials to turn a new leaf as paper-pushing bill hits $220m

Markus Mannheim THE days of paper-pushing bureaucrats may be coming to an end because the government can no longer afford to put it off.

Govt wages war on paper

Markus Mannheim The pipedream of the paperless office will be within reach in three years – because taxpayers can no longer afford to put it off.

Humble cardigan given a hug

Markus Mannheim Could Michelle Obama save bureaucrats from the national sport of public service-bashing?

Comments 11

Wong to cut $550m but vows to leave jobs untouched

Peter Martin, Markus Mannheim EXPERTS have expressed deep scepticism about the pledge by the Finance Minister, Penny Wong, yesterday to take an extra half a billion dollars from the public service without touching jobs.

PS wings clipped in war on costs

Ross Peake, Markus Mannheim Most federal bureaucrats will no longer fly business class on the eastern seaboard - if they travel to meetings at all - under further belt-tightening for the public service unveiled by the federal...

Comments 8

Defence personnel's personal secrets revealed in archive files

Markus Mannheim A woman who asked for copies of her father's military records was given a bundle of papers showing he had a sexually transmitted disease and a history of misconduct.

Comments 8

Markus Mannheim

Bureaucracy hits peak before cuts

Markus Mannheim The federal bureaucracy grew to its largest-ever size at the beginning of this year, despite signs that a harsh budget was looming.

Comments 5

Bashed: new push for PS to go bush

Markus Mannheim The federal government should shift parts of its bureaucracy to country towns to ensure the towns survive economically, a top research firm says.

Comments 18

ACT government accused of housing smuggler

Markus Mannheim, Hamish Boland-Rudder A Canberra shopping complex has denied any knowledge of an alleged people smuggler who was shown collecting trolleys at the centre, as the ACT government begins an investigation into claims it is...

Father's frank records disclosed

Markus Mannheim A woman who asked for copies of her father's military records was given a bundle of papers showing he had a sexually transmitted disease and a history of misconduct.

Sleeping giant: worker fatigue 'epidemic'

Markus Mannheim Australian workers, especially parents, are suffering from an ''unrecognised epidemic'' of tiredness, a new study suggests.

Comments 13

PS union puts temp work in spotlight

Markus Mannheim The federal bureaucracy's army of contractors and temporary employees deserve greater rights to ongoing work, the public servants' union says.

Comments 10

Exiting PS staff to leave giant bill

Markus Mannheim The federal bureaucracy's economy drive is expected to create a massive redundancies bill this financial year, as workplaces are forced to farewell staff to cut their wage budgets.

Opposition sees $50m in outsourcing slash

Markus Mannheim, Edmund Tadros The federal opposition believes it can save taxpayers at least $50 million a year by reining in the bureaucracy's use of consultants.

Ministers ignored grants guidelines

Markus Mannheim Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese approved $28 million in grants against his department's advice, and another $3 million worth of roads projects in his own electorate, in breach of government...

Comments 4