While the outrage over Kathryn Campbell's alleged "golden parachute" into AUKUS is understandable, neither Labor nor the senior public servants involved deserve the vitriol that has been heaped on them.
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Senators Jacqui Lambie and Barbara Pocock, some media commentators and the disgruntled members of the public baying for the blood of those who presided over the move can't see the woods for the trees.
When the Albanese government took office it was faced with the problem of what to do with senior public servants believed to either be too closely affiliated with the Morrison government or whose conduct was going to be subject to scrutiny.
These included the head of Prime Minister and Cabinet Phil Gaetjens and Ms Campbell. While Mr Gaetjens was unceremoniously dismissed almost immediately three months before the end of his contract, Ms Campbell presented a very different conundrum.
Labor, which had foreshadowed its intention to hold a Royal Commission into "robodebt" long before, was well aware that as the former head of both the Human Services and Social Services departments she could be called to testify.
A further complication was that in July 2021 Ms Campbell had been made secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade by the LNP.
Incoming Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong did not want Ms Campbell to stay on in that role so, as part of a reshuffle of department heads, career diplomat Jan Adams was to take over from July 1.
Also muddying the water was that after Mr Gaetjens's departure Mr Albanese said he would not be sacking more public servants. There was also the risk that if the incumbent was dismissed litigation could ensue.
This put pressure on PM&C secretary Professor Glyn Davis and the then Public Service Commissioner Peter Woolcott to find Ms Campbell a new berth.
Professor Davis reportedly reached out to Defence secretary Greg Moriarty to investigate the possibility of a role for the surplus DFAT chief on June 14 last year.
The upshot was that after a short period of leave without pay Ms Campbell joined AUKUS on her previous salary, nearly $250,000 more than that of her immediate superior.
Mr Moriarty justified this on the basis of the "critical nature of the position" and "the experience Ms Campbell will bring to the Department of Defence and more broadly across government".
While these statements have been seized on by critics as "a glowing endorsement" the reality is that Ms Campbell was unlikely to accept a significant pay cut.
While it was always to be expected the appointment would prove controversial it had the beneficial effect of keeping Ms Campbell within the APS tent during and after the "robodebt" Royal Commission.
The commission's report was scathing in its criticism of her actions with the result that on Monday she was suspended without pay from the AUKUS role.
While The Canberra Times is not suggesting Ms Campbell has been named in the sealed section of the commission's report, her ongoing connection to the APS leaves the way clear for further action to be taken.
That is not necessarily true of other "robodebt" public servants who have since moved on or, indeed, of Scott Morrison or Stuart Robert.
Senator Lambie's over-the-top attack on Mr Moriarty during Senate estimates was both intemperate and unjustified. It would appear she would not, or could not, grasp the complexity of the situation he had been drawn into.
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