Article: More Heat Than Light

25/03/2024

More heat than light: IPANZ contributions to the free and frank advice discussion (2024)

In this 2024 analysis for Public Sector, I trace the contribution the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand has made over a decade to the discussion of free and frank advice, a subject that attracts considerable commentary but little empirical work in Aotearoa on what it is, where it comes from and which institutions enable it. The first contribution was a 2012 roundtable marking the centenary of the Public Service Act 1912, which identified the central challenge as striking a balance between openness and confidentiality. It was followed in 2015 by a seminar at which senior practitioners and academics debated whether free and frank advice had eroded, and whether an inquiry into its state was needed. The most recent is a 2023 survey of public servants run with BusinessDesk. Most respondents believed they understood political neutrality and saw their senior leaders modelling free and frank advice, but opinion was split on whether political advisers encourage it or stand in its way, and later analysis suggested politicisation may arise within departments as well as from political quarters. I conclude that IPANZ has shown important leadership, but that the discussion still generates more heat than light, and difficult conversations lie ahead.

Read the article: https://debtekawa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IPANZ_Autumn-2024_Deb-Te-Kawa-Free-and-Frank-Advice.pdf

Reference
Te Kawa, D. (2024). More heat than light: IPANZ contributions to the free and frank advice discussion. Public Sector, 47(1), 16–17.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5129-5218

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