A couple of weeks ago at a Wednesday Lunch at Lowy I had a dig at the Australian public service for being as 'opaque as the windscreen of a ute on a dusty road in February'. Credit where it’s due. At lunch at the Institute today, the Secretary of Defence, Nick Warner, delivered a strong, reflective and sensibly self-critical speech about the problems facing Defence, and the processes needed to fix them. It’s a fascinating account of Defence’s work beyond the usual media commentary on strategy and equipment. You can read it here, or listen to it here. As a tax-payer who cares about the operational capability of our defence forces, I found it a very reassuring message.
More please, public servants.
