Rebuilding public service trust and integrity

MELBOURNE | AUGUST 22, 2024

Get tickets

Program

8:30am

Registration and refreshments

9:00 AM

Welcome, from The Mandarin

Peter Gearin, Editor in Chief at The Mandarin

9:15 AM

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Contemporary community scepticism as a force for good: Heightened scrutiny helping to drive public sector integrity standards

Just over six months into her tenure as commissioner of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, Victoria Elliott will acknowledge that the Australian community’s confidence in public sector integrity is likely stretched amid the existence of a more general trust deficit. While restoring confidence remains an important ideal, she will highlight that scepticism also speaks to a high level of awareness of public sector integrity issues.

Victoria Elliott, IBAC Commissioner

9:45 AM

FIRESIDE CHAT

How to maintain trust and integrity in democracy in an increasingly fraught environment

Sven Bluemmel, VEC Commissioner

MODERATOR: Tom Ravlic,
Investigative writer at The Mandarin

10:15 AM

MORNING TEA BREAK

10:40 AM

PRESENTATION

How to avoid an ‘Ombudsman slams…’ headline

Reflecting on her vision of the office, Marlo Baragwanath will offer advice on dealing with the Ombudsman while promoting fairness and building trust with community.

Marlo Baragwanath, Victorian ombud

MODERATOR: Peter Gearin, Editor in Chief at The Mandarin

11:10 AM

PANEL

Future state of public service leadership

How leaders can deal with critical challenges and navigate complex issues while building a more effective, ethical, inclusive and accountable public service.

PANELLISTS

John Bradley, Secretary, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action

Paulleen Markwort, Director, Strategic Innovation, Strategic Innovation Centre for Excellence in Child & Family Welfare

Mary Wooldridge, Chief Executive Officer, Workplace Gender Equality Agency

MODERATOR

Professor Caron Beaton-Wells, Dean and CEO, Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)

11:55 AM

PRESENTATION
Championing integrity at the Victorian Public Sector Commission

Victorian Public Sector Commissioner Brigid Monagle reflects on the current state of integrity and trust in Victoria’s public sector, progress the VPSC is making and what the future holds.

Brigid Monagle, VPS Commissioner

MODERATOR

Melissa Coade, News Editor at The Mandarin

12:25 PM

LUNCH BREAK

1:20 PM

PRESENTATION & Q&A

Psychological safety and integrity: Fostering a culture of wellbeing, trust and confidence

The impact of psychosocial health on public servants trying to do the right thing, especially whistleblowers.

Greg Vines, CEO Comcare

FIRESIDE CHAT ON WHISTLEBLOWING

Clancy Moore, Transparency International

MODERATOR

Melissa Coade, News Editor at The Mandarin

2 PM

FIRESIDE CHAT

A better Australia in a changing world

A Better Australia: Politics, Public Policy and How to Achieve Lasting Reform is a new book by John Brumby, Scott Hamilton and Stuart Kells about successful policymaking in Australia. In this conversation, John Brumby and Michael Wesley will ask: what’s next? What does good policy and implementation look like in the decade to come, particularly in relation to the big global and regional changes now affecting Australia? How can good policy meet challenges such as climate change, geopolitical tension, the advance of new technologies, the return of protectionism and threats to democracy? How can we build government that citizens trust and ensure it’s fit for purpose in a changing region and world?

John Brumby, former Victoria premier

MODERATOR: Tom Ravlic,
Investigative writer at The Mandarin

2:30 PM

PANEL

Doing more with less

How to maximise public sector resourcing and recruitment, and make the right data and digital choices, while keeping integrity intact.

PANELLISTS

Karen Batt, State Secretary, CPSU

Marianne Broadbent, Managing Partner, Future Leadership

Gisele Kapterian, Senior Director, Public Sector Strategy APAC, Salesforce

MODERATOR

Julian Bajkowski, Senior Journalist at The Mandarin

3:10 PM

AFTERNOON TEA BREAK

3:35 PM

INTERACTIVE SESSION

Toolkit for trust dilemmas

In this interactive session, Dr Matt Beard from Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership will share some of the hard-won lessons drawn from the experiences of hundreds of Australian leaders, navigating their own trust dilemmas. You'll be invited to join the conversation, as we predict the next wave of trust dilemmas facing the public service and crowdsource some strategies for addressing them.

Dr Matt Beard, Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership

4:15 PM

PANEL

Maintaining government’s social licence: equity, fairness and trust

How to create a public sector that delivers trusted services and reflects the needs of local communities, with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion.

PANELLISTS

Dr Todd Fernando, Senior Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne

Associate Professor Scott Hamilton, Senior Advisor

Dr Niki Vincent, Commissioner for Gender Equality in the Public Sector

MODERATOR

Melissa Coade, News Editor at The Mandarin

4:55 PM

Closing notes

5 PM

DRINKS RECEPTION