Public Service school
gets top marks

A national school for Public Servants has been proposed by the Prime Minister as a way of training future leaders and managers in the Australian Public Service.
   Speaking to the Australia New Zealand School of Government Annual Conference at the Australian National University recently, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd unveiled his plan for the school as a way of pulling down the ‘thick walls’ he said existed between PS policymakers and Australia’s universities and research institutions.
   “Those thick walls do not enhance either the quality of public administration or the quality of academia,” the Prime Minister said.

PM unveils plan for National Centre

     “I am in the market for ways we can improve how public institutions relate here, so we make the most of the great talent we have in Australia.”
   Drawing on the example of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the United States, Mr Rudd said it was that type of institution that exemplified the approach he had in mind.
   He saw a similar collaboration between the Crawford School of Economics and Government at the ANU and the Australia New Zealand School of Government.
   “I believe it is time to reinvigorate the Commonwealth’s relationship with the ANU and create a new partnership between the Public Service, ANZSOG and the ANU,” he said.
    “That relationship is, in my view, crucial to fostering the development of the next generation of Public Service leaders and ensuring Government draws on the wealth of expertise that exists across the ANU and ANZSOG networks.”
   He said the ANU was a university of national and international significance and ANZSOG had shown it could deliver first-rate training for future leaders.
   He said the three way partnership could lead to the establishment of a new National Centre of Public Policy and Public Sector Management.
   “This Centre would focus on professional development,” Mr Rudd said.
   He said graduation from a recognised course could also become a pre-requisite for entry into the Senior Executive Service.
   “As part of this, the ANZSOG Executive Master of Public Administration would become a key preparation for a role at the level of Senior Executive Service Band One.
   “Public Service executives could either access programs at the ANU, or at one of the other university members of ANZSOG closest to where they work.”
   He said other ANZSOG programs could be tailored for those in more senior roles.
   Mr Rudd said the proposed new Centre fitted in with his calls for the APS to do more to invest in its staff.
   “The Government’s program of Public Service reform above all else is about our people,” Mr Rudd said, “fostering a public service culture where there is a passion for public policy.”
   He said people with that passion recognised that there were few more important and rewarding professions than forging public policy that would change and better the lives of all Australians.