Public service

Inside story: How a bikie debt collector brought down a Perth pillar of parliament

Small town, big connections: How a speed junkie was running Perth’s parliament, how one man brought him down, and how this reporter was finally unleashed.

• Today, 5.00am
• by Gary Adshead

Off the record or else: A Perth journo, a Como hotel and a story too big to publish

Few people knew where Gary Adshead was going that night. To a hotel in which he would hear the most remarkable story of his career – but one he couldn’t report.

• August 14, 2023
• by Gary Adshead

‘Stinks of hypocrisy’: Liberals condemn Labor over staffer appointment

The Coalition is considering calling for an inquiry into the recruitment process of Labor’s new head of Transport for NSW, Josh Murray.

• August 11, 2023
• by Max Maddison and Michael McGowan

Minister’s office pushed for former Labor staffer to get top job

Transport Minister Jo Haylen has refused to say whether former Labor staffer Josh Murray was recommended to be the state’s new Transport Secretary by a hiring panel.

• August 10, 2023
• by Michael McGowan

Do top public servants deserve $900,000 a year? The short answer is yes

Is it ever possible to rationalise extraordinary pay packets for a few at a time when so many Australians are struggling?

• August 10, 2023
• by Kirstin Ferguson

The Reporter: True Stories

Gary Adshead’s 40-year career has been spent pursuing the truth. From crooks and crimes to state secrets and heroic rescues, we take you behind the headlines.

Robo-debt bureaucrat quits her $900k-a-year defence job

Kathryn Campbell’s resignation, effective last Friday, comes after damning findings were made against her by the robo-debt royal commission.

• July 24, 2023
• by Angus Thompson

The big four are on the nose, but the stench is coming from elsewhere

If the Senate inquiry ends up targeting the practice of consulting instead of the structural rot, government agencies will lose more than the taxpayer gains.

• July 23, 2023
• by Parnell Palme McGuinness

Crossbench demands answers on robo-debt bureaucrat’s $900K AUKUS parachute

The robo-debt royal commission made a range of scathing findings against Kathryn Campbell, who ran the Department of Human Services when the welfare debt recovery scheme was introduced.

• July 20, 2023
• by Angus Thompson

To be frank, our public service has been far from fearless - and well before robo-debt

Time and time again, public servants have been cowed by their political masters, even when it means breaking the law. It’s time to restore faith in our public service.

• July 15, 2023
• by Tony Harris