The Crime and Misconduct Commission has published on its website, submissions to be considered in the preparation of a public report on interaction between ministers, ministerial staff and public servants.
The CMC sought written submissions from individuals and stakeholder groups after holding public hearings in 2009 into allegations of official misconduct involving a senior ministerial adviser.
Interested parties were asked to consider:
- what protocols, procedures or constraints should be in place to guide ethical and mutually respectful interactions between a minister’s office and public servants
- how public servants may be empowered to challenge or question a request or direction from the minister’s office that they consider to be inappropriate
- what needs to be done to ensure that public servants at all levels understand their obligation to provide independent, apolitical and impartial advice, and maintain the freedom to do so.
Sixteen submissions were received, however, some have not been published at the request of the author, and some have been edited to remove personal information or material not relevant to the CMC’s review or not appropriate for publication.
The CMC report which is intended to heighten the awareness of inappropriate conduct involving ministerial staff and public servants, will be published in due course.
Submissions are available on the website.
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