Respect public servants' authority: BCA

20 Sep 2012, 8:05 pm   -   Source: AAP
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(AAP)

(AAP)

The Business Council of Australia is worried public servants have had their authority undermined by inexperienced and unaccountable political staffers.

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Ministerial staff numbers should be slashed and departmental secretaries given permanent tenure as a way of reinstating the authority of the public service over so-called "political gatekeepers", a business leader says.

Business Council of Australia (BCA) chief executive Jennifer Westacott on Thursday argued many modern politicians had lost sight of the fundamental role of the public service.

"Your authority has been undermined by political gatekeepers often with little expertise and no accountability," Ms Westacott, a former public servant, told a public administration summit in Melbourne.

"Australia now has more personal staff per minister than many other comparable countries."

Ms Westacott said the public sector had a responsibility to lead long-term policy reform and stand against the whims of short-termism.

She suggested a number of ways the legitimacy of bureaucrats could be restored.

First up she recommended halving the allocation of personal staff in ministerial offices and establishing a mandatory code "that prohibits them from directing public servants".

The council chief also wants departmental secretaries to be given permanent tenure once again.

Existing short-term contracts cultivated "reticence and timidity", Ms Westacott said.

But it wasn't all music to the ears of public servants on Thursday.

The BCA boss demanded the public sector be made smaller, more focused and more productive.

"We don't want boom and bust times in the public sector," Ms Westacott said.

"We need a comprehensive audit of the scope and size of government to forestall the need for tough corrections like we're seeing in Queensland."

Ms Westacott also suggested current "no forced redundancy" policies needed to be axed because the inability to sack poor performers was stopping the sector from becoming truly high-performing.

"Australia can't afford for you to be passengers, spectators, victims of political short-termism."

AAP jcd/lk/w

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