Public service morale plummets as 12,000 ‘natural attrition’ target fizzles

By Julian Bajkowski The prospect of looming job cuts in the federal public service is dragging down morale and feeding into a climate of deep uncertainty over job security, unions and Canberra’s Labor politicians have warned. As the Coalition government sets about attempting to thin the ranks of the bureaucracy by 12,000 positions through ‘natural […]

Liberals support for referendum shatters

By Julian Bajkowski Bitter factional infighting has torn apart public Coalition support for a Constitutional change that would guarantee federal funds can flow directly to more than 500 local governments after key hard-right elements publicly railed against the case for a ‘yes’ vote in a torrid Senate debate. After more than a year of publicly […]

Referendum text released amid Coalition cleavage

By Julian Bajkowski The Gillard government has finally released the text of the proposed Constitutional amendment to give financial recognition to local government, with Opposition spokesman on local government Barnaby Joyce emphatically backing the case for change in the face of a fresh Coalition rupture on the issue. After weeks of intense horse-trading, Local Government […]

All eyes on NSW over CCTV legal glitch

By Julian Bajkowski New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith is under intense pressure to clarify to what degree local governments can now legally operate surveillance cameras in public spaces following a landmark decision on Friday in the state’s Administrative Decisions Tribunal that has left councils across the state demanding answers. After a weekend that […]

Referendum committee goes another round

By Julian Bajkowski The parliamentary committee tasked with deciding whether a referendum on financial recognition of local government in the Australian Constitution should go ahead will hold a rapid second public hearing on February 20th as opposing sides of politics battle to a September plebiscite alive. A notice from the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional […]

Roxon gives Victorian corruption watchdog bugs

By Paul Hemsley Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon has formally declared that phone tapping powers will be granted to Victoria’s recently established Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) as soon as its predecessor, the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) is abolished. The move clears an important legal roadblock in the creation of the new watchdog which had […]

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