Defence

Secretary

Improving our advice to Ministers

Nick Warner
Secretary

When we open the newspaper in the morning, or listen to the news on our television or radio at night, there’s rarely a day where we don’t see the Minister speaking about issues concerning Defence. It might be welcoming troops back from Iraq, announcing major capability investment in new equipment for the Australian Defence Force, or discussing Defence’s international cooperation programs. In each case the Minister relies on quality advice from you, the subject matter experts in Defence.

Whether you work in Canberra, are based out in the regions or are serving overseas, it’s important for us all to remember, military and civilian, that our job is to serve the government of the day. Good relationships between government agencies and Ministers’ offices are vital to effective government and we all have a role to play in this.

It’s important that we provide our Minister with timely, concise and well crafted advice as our number one priority. It’s the personal responsibility of us all to be well informed, responsive and accountable as we undertake our work implementing the policies of government, whether we work in the Defence Community Organisation, are serving on deployment overseas or are employed in a research laboratory in South Australia.

Ministers and their offices are faced with information overload and we need to keep this in mind as we write for them. The volume of Ministerial Submissions and briefs from Defence has increased by 280 per cent over the past five years, from 2,111 in 2000-01 to 5,958 in 2005-06. That’s an incredible volume, and only reflects a part of the information that Ministers receive. Clearly, where we can make a difference is in the quality, accuracy and timeliness of the written advice we provide.

Defence has many hard-working staff, dedicated to producing results for our Ministers of the highest quality. The excellence of our work should be reflected in the excellence of ministerial correspondence. The Minister must be able to assume that, for any advice received from the department, the information on which it is based is authoritative, the most comprehensive available, and the judgements included are consistent with portfolio-wide and, where applicable, Whole-of-Government priorities.

It’s easy to forget that it’s not just the big things that are important – it’s the every day contact with the Ministers’ offices that can really matter. In particular we are judged on a daily basis for the quality of the Ministerial Submissions, Question Time Briefs and Talking Points we provide. Our ability to meet Ministers’ expectations in our performance of these critical activities reflects directly on their views of our professionalism and reliability. It’s also important to remember that our reputation is on the line in every contact you have with Ministers’ offices, so we need to provide clear advice and it must meet the set deadlines. It’s not just the Chief of the Defence Force’s (CDF) and my reputation, it’s yours as well.

The CDF and I have also put in place a number of measures which will enhance support to Ministers at an organisational level. We have agreed the establishment of the Policy Development Unit, under the leadership of an SES Band-2 officer, to work with subject matter experts in the Groups and Services in their development of key Ministerial and Cabinet Submissions. This team, reporting directly to CDF and me, will assist in a number of ways, including in the management of inter-departmental consultation processes; helping identify and refine options; reviewing drafts; and, facilitating the development of options and costing throughout the process. The team won’t be taking the responsibility for preparing the Ministerial and Cabinet Submissions, rather, they will be helping build capacity in the line areas by providing advice and support.

The CDF and I have also initiated a program for enhanced education and training to build the necessary understanding of the requirements for working with Ministers. This will initially focus on SES/Star-ranked officers, but will also assist those who are preparing the briefings and advice. This should help us all improve the services that we provide to government.

The Australian Public Service Commission has published an excellent brochure on this topic, Supporting Ministers, Upholding the Values, which can be accessed on their website at http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications06/supportingministers.htm. You’ll find other useful information on the website of our own Directorate of Ministerial and Parliamentary Liaison Services (DMPLS) at http://intranet.defence.gov.au/cpa/manual/mes.htm.

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