Hanging civil servants out to dry

I don’t think I can recall the last time a former State Services Commissioner or Deputy criticised the Government publicly, but Ross Tanner has spoken out regarding the tendency of Ministers to blame the Chief Executives, and hang them out to dry.

“There was a convention where in return for the loyalty and professionalism of the public service, ministers would actually answer in public and defend the actions, where they can, of their department,”

“What we’re seeing now is a tendency to pass the buck to the chief executive, and saying ‘you defend it’.”

Of course on top of this, civil servants are no longer trusted to be professional, if Ministers disapprove of their boyfriends.