public-service, aps news, public service news, martin parkinson, pmc, scott morrison, martin parkinson retires, mike pezzullo, chris moraitis

Analysis Scott Morrison has always believed in miracles. Does he think there's such thing as divine coincidence? Martin Parkinson, economist-by-training and Australia's top federal public servant, has confirmed he's leaving the job on the same day the Prime Minister outlined his intent for the bureaucracy in the clearest terms yet. There's no chance, or luck, here. Phil Gaetjens' elevation to head the Prime Minister's department marks the practical starting point for Mr Morrison's public service agenda. It's no surprise the government starts its work with a reset for the bureaucracy. This time, there is a difference. A hefty review of the public service is nearing its finish, and Mr Morrison says he is putting the so-called "quiet Australians" at the front of his agenda. Now that is a coincidence. The Thodey review was set in motion under the Prime Minister's predecessor, by Dr Parkinson himself. It risked falling away as the irrelevant, unfinished business of a different government once Mr Morrison replaced Malcolm Turnbull. Instead, the Prime Minister has put it high up on a schedule that looked barren as voters returned him. Public service reform is a natural fit for a leader who wants to serve a mainstream Australia unhappy with government service delivery. It's a practical, concrete project that reaches far into "the bubble" while helping the people outside it. In other words, one that suits Mr Morrison. The Thodey review, as it turns out, was in the right place at the right time. MORE PUBLIC SERVICE NEWS: Public servants might curse such providence, depending on what the review finds, and what parts the Coalition embraces. The Prime Minister's mentor John Howard made the public service more responsive to, some might say cowed by, governments. Mr Morrison's words to News Corp about the public service on Thursday bear an echo of those years. "We don't expect the public service to run the government. That's what we were elected to do," he said. "In my experience, the public service always works best when it has strong guidance and leadership." What are public servants to read into this? As Dr Parkinson says, the days of mandarins are long gone. Few close to the public service today would believe it comes near running the government, Sir Humphrey Appleby-style. Mr Morrison already gave the public service a stern pep talk about "congestion busting". His latest comments are something of a muscle flex. His catchphrase for the public service, "respect and expect", is innocuous and typically glib. It sums up everything: There is little detail yet showing how the Prime Minister plans to achieve the "doing" he wants the public service to do. There's only the spectre of $1.5 billion promised in cuts over four years. Mr Gaetjens's appointment to replace Dr Parkinson as PM&C secretary is the closest thing to action so far. It bears a political charge that could course through the public service. While Mr Howard brought the bureaucracy further to heel by sacking departmental heads and swelling his own office, Mr Morrison has chosen a public service head openly loathed by Labor. One that ruffled feathers by skipping Senate estimates this year. The new Prime Minister's Department secretary will bring political nous trained up through his years as Mr Morrison's chief of staff. His academic CV is thinner than Princeton alumni Dr Parkinson, for what that's worth, but he's experienced in the Commonwealth and state public service. For all the baying about his allegiances, he deserves a chance to show whether he's the "frank and fearless" type, or a harbinger of a more politicised bureaucracy.

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