Building a Better Public Service

SYDNEY |  JUNE 12, 2025

Program

8:30AM 

REGISTRATION AND REFRESHMENTS

9:00AM 

WELCOME ADDRESS

9:15AM 

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

Public Servants and Politicians

  • Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s 29th Prime Minister

10:00AM 

PANEL

The future of NSW public service leadership

The current risks and challenges facing senior managers at state government departments and agencies, and how they can work with politicians to achieve the best policy outcomes.

  • Kathrina Lo, Commissioner, NSW Public Service Commission
  • Susan Pearce, Secretary, NSW Health
  • David Scmidtchen, Professor, UNSW Canberra

Moderator: Melissa Coade, News Editor, The Mandarin

10.45AM 

MORNING TEA BREAK 

11:15AM 

PRESENTATION 

The importance of robust debate and trusted information to Australia's future

Kim Williams will discuss the crucial need for robust debate within government, parliament, the public sector and society at large to ensure Australia succeeds in a fast-changing world. He will focus in part on the need for thoroughgoing public discussion about the importance and future of the ABC in a world in which information has become a vital aspect of national sovereignty.

  • Kim Williams, Chair, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

11:45AM 

PANEL

AI and all the technology public servants need to know about

How governments harness data and implement safe and beneficial technology at scale will determine the future success of public services. How can state governments, in particular, keep up with the speed of technological change while bringing public servants and citizens along for the ride? 

  • Ian Oppermann, Co-founder, ServiceGen
  • Katie McDermott, Founder, See Me Please
  • Jim Freeman, Chief Technology Officer, Kyndryl

Moderator: Julian Bajkowski, Senior Journalist, The Mandarin

12:30PM 

PRESENTATION

Capability with purpose: The ethical foundations of public service. Part 1

Dr Matt Beard from Cranlana Centre will lead a reflective discussion to identify some of the key insights and unresolved questions from the morning’s sessions. He will zoom in to consider how these affect your work and out to see how they connect to broader trends and challenges.

  • Matt Beard, Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership

12.45PM 

LUNCH BREAK 

1:40PM 

PANEL

Government collaboration in times of crisis

What have we learnt from the impact of recent natural disasters - the Lismore floods, for example - and how can agencies work together more effectively in the future?

  • Janelle Saffin, NSW Recovery Minister
  • Shane Fitzsimmons, Managing Director, SAF Leading Advisory 
  • Mike Wassing, Commissioner, NSW State Emergency Service

Moderator: Libby Hackett, CEO, Australian Public Policy Institute

2:25PM 

PRESENTATION

How to advise cabinet ministers on the state's most pressing problems

Secretary of The Cabinet Office NSW, Kate Boyd, looks at the attributes she believes senior public servants must develop to advise senior ministers effectively.

  • Kate Boyd, Secretary, The Cabinet Office NSW

2:55PM 

PRESENTATION & PANEL

How should public servants engage with expertise

While having in-house expertise is vital for effective and efficient government, it’s just as important for those with public service expertise to develop their own expert network, especially if it includes academics and experienced community leaders active in their field of endeavour. The session will consider the best way for public servants to develop expertise networks, and what results can be achieved as a result.

  • Ben Neal, Managing Director, Scyne Advisory
  • Dr Marcus Wigan, Professor Emeritus, Edinburgh Napier University, Transport and Information Systems
  • Shanshan Guo, Digital and Community Engagement Manager, NSW Parliament House
  • Narelle Grayson, Head of Data Governance & Policy, Ramsay Health Care

Moderator: Peter Gearin, Editor-in-Chief, The Mandarin

3.40PM 

AFTERNOON TEA BREAK

4:00PM 

PRESENTATION

Capability with purpose: The ethical foundations of public service. Part 2

In this interactive session, Dr Matt Beard will look at the challenging balance between effectiveness and ethics in public service, tackling questions including:

  • How do we escape compliance traps that divert resources from service delivery?
  • What separates genuine capability from performative metrics?
  • How can ethical capability and stewardship enhance, rather than hinder, core delivery capabilities?
  • Matt Beard, Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership

4:35PM 

PANEL

The big challenges facing the NSW public service

Technology transformation, interstate rivalry over employee pay and conditions, workplace and societal changes, shifting responsibilities for the public and private sectors, global tensions: the pressures public service leaders will have to deal with in the future.

  • Stewart Little, General Secretary, Public Service Association of NSW
  • Stephen Bartos, Professor in Public Sector Governance, University of Canberra
  • Brenton Prosser, Professor in Public Policy & Leadership and Director, UNSW Public Partnerships & Impact Hub

Moderator: Melissa Coade, News Editor, The Mandarin

5:15PM 

CLOSING NOTES

5.20PM 

DRINKS RECEPTION

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