Public servants told what Aussies hold near and dear

A CHANGE in ethics and values in government organisations is something that needs to been seen in public servants, an official says.
“Change is a constant companion of public servants, year in and year out,” Australian Public Service Commissioner John Lloyd said as he also pointed to some of the ethics cherished by Australia’s public servants.
He was part of a panel discussion organised by the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct on ethics, workplace culture and leadership in a decentralised public sector with Personnel Management Department acting Secretary Taies Sansan.
Lloyd stressed the importance of change to create and develop skills effective for public servants in a workplace.
He said the Australian public service had four key values – to be effective, efficient, professional and punctual.
He said the government spent most of their resources on training talented public servants who have to be good.
“A leader is someone who can see the big picture, someone who knows his boundaries between right and wrong and someone who can work with the people,” Lloyd said.
Lloyd said a good government and a good public service with a good policy would lead to success.
Unlike Australia, PNG has a decentralised public service in which direct authority is placed on provincial authorities who provide services to provincial centres.
Department of Personnel Management acting secretary Taies Sansan said that holding people accountable in a district development authority was one of the challenges faced by the department.
Another challenge is funding which departments need to partner with donor agencies to up-skill their staff.