Patrick Gourley

Paddy Gourley is a former Commonwealth public servant who has spent the last 20 years working in the private sector.

Recent articles by Patrick Gourley

The AUKUS project is being submerged in twaddle

The AUKUS project is being submerged in twaddle

Cameron Stewart recently attempted to vaunt the virtues, so to speak, of the AUKUS nuclear submarines via an article in The Australian newspaper. In part, it’s threaded together with tufts of intellectual fluff from Kim Beazley, his one-time offsider, Paul Dibb, Peter Dean from the United States Study Centre in Sydney, Mike Pezzullo formerly of the Department of Home Affairs and John Blaxland from the ANU.

The great Australian crawl

The great Australian crawl

Recent P&I contributors have drawn out sharply the consequences of American influence in Australia.

Mike Pezzullo: Colossus of ever-failing policy and political embarrassment

Mike Pezzullo: Colossus of ever-failing policy and political embarrassment

Mike Pezzullo once bestrode the federal public service like a colossus, or so some fancied. He may have thought so too. Sundry journos we’re in the habit of describing him as the most powerful public servant in the land; he never was.

Mike Burgess has damaged ASIOs reputation and must resign

Mike Burgess has damaged ASIOs reputation and must resign

Last year the head of the ASIO, Mr Mike Burgesss annual threat assessment was blighted by errors of fact. This year hes enlarged his repertoire to errors of judgment.

Department of Home Affairs contradicts every sensible principle of organisation design

Department of Home Affairs contradicts every sensible principle of organisation design

What a fabulous trove The Pezzullo Papers are. The hundreds of recently disclosed text messages sent by the Home Affairs Secretary Mr Michael Pezzullo to a person described as a Liberal Party powerbroker are morbidly fascinating. Poor Pezzullo in a few days he attracted as much public commentary, most of it unflattering, as platoons of traditionally reticent departmental Secretaries would cop in their lifetimes and afterwards.

The public service classification review is a dud

The public service classification review is a dud

A recent review of hierarchies and work classification structures contains too many risks to the efficiency, effectiveness and integrity in the Australian Public Service (APS) to be taken seriously.

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