“Release it,” says the Minister, pushing the report back across his desk. “All of it.” The Chief Executive stares at the thick document – six months of analysis on prison reform. “Minister, our advice is clear. The proposed changes carry significant risks.” “Yes,” the Minister says, leaning back. “Your advice is clear, thorough, and I…

From my position by the door, I watch four Ministers from three parties circle the Cabinet committee room like wary cats. Housing from Labour, Finance from Labour, Infrastructure from NZ First, and Local Government from the Greens – each armed with different advice about the urban development legislation and housing. “My officials are clear,” the…

Everyone talks about free and frank advice like we all know what it means. We don’t. And that’s a problem. Richard Mulgan’s 2007 article, Truth in Government and the Politicization of Public Service Advice, is still one of the best efforts to name what happens when advice is manipulated to serve political ends. He takes us…

From my usual seat at the far end of the table in the Minister’s office, I watch another tense briefing unfold about Māori unemployment statistics. Being a Private Secretary means I see these moments play out daily, but this one feels different. “Show me what’s really happening,” the Minister demands, drumming fingers on the latest…

“This is censorship,” the Principal Advisor declares, waving his draft journal article. “I have two PhDs and twenty years of expertise. The public needs to hear my critique of the government’s trade policy. What happened to free speech in this country?” The Chief Executive suppresses a sigh. The Principal Advisor works for me. This is…

My fingers tremble on the doorknob as I force myself to open it gently, though every instinct screams to burst in. The sound still cracks through the office like a gunshot. The Minister’s shoulders stiffen before he turns, and I catch the flash of irritation in his eyes, the muscle working in his jaw. “Minister,”…

I sit at the far end of the table in the Minister’s office, watching this particular piece of political theatre play out. The morning meeting has all the familiar props – the polished conference table, the cabinet paper, the untouched coffees growing cold. The Minister drums her fingers on the paper. “I understand the statistical…

In the crowded waiting room outside the main Cabinet room, I shift my appointment paper on my lap, watching senior officials trade whispers. I’m item fourteen on the agenda. It’s a theoretically straightforward paper until you factor in the Treasury official’s frown at me when I walked into the room and that pointed cough from…

I wrote an opinion piece for the Public Sector Journal. It tracks the contributions of the Institute of Public Administration of New Zealand to the discourse on free and frank advice. There is more heat than light about free and frank advice. I wanted to acknowledge one of the few institutions in Aotearoa-New Zealand that…

As some of you know I am getting close to finishing my PhD on free and frank advice: what it is, why it matters and which institutions enable it and which institutions are a barrier. By “close” I mean closer than I was yesterday. Here are some thoughts on free and frank advice for those…

I deleted my Bluesky account today. I posted a few thoughts this morning. The first thought was dialling down the performative outrage and getting to work. The focus was on personal healing and supporting the most vulnerable in our communities. The second set of thoughts were around why ACT’s anti-Māori and anti-Tiriti policies might produce…

At the heart of democratic governance lies a simple, brutal truth: democracy is not bureaucracy. It cannot be. One is an unruly struggle over authority, voice, and decision-making. The other is a system designed to control, filter, and stabilise that struggle. They exist in permanent tension. Free and frank advice, if it is to have…

The idea of political neutrality has long been treated as a bedrock principle of public service professionalism. It is held up as a safeguard: ensuring that public servants will serve any government faithfully, regardless of party or ideology. In public management literature and Westminster tradition alike, neutrality is often associated with loyalty to democratic institutions,…

To understand the significance of free and frank advice in Aotearoa New Zealand, it is necessary to begin with its constitutional character, not its administrative form. Guidance and expectations about policy advice are often described in managerial or procedural terms as a matter of professional standards, statutory duties, or policy techniques. Yet such descriptions flatten…

The model of ‘politically neutral expertise’ remains a dominant ideal within public administration theory and practice. It imagines officials as technical advisors: offering facts, analysis, and rational assessments without political interference or bias. In this model, free and frank advice is valued for its neutrality. It is protected not because it is contested, but because…

The thesis examines the nature, importance, and future of free and frank advice in Aotearoa New Zealand. It explores how officials and ministers navigate their advisory relationships within an increasingly complex governance environment. The core question it addresses is: what constitutes free and frank advice, why does it matter, and how can we strengthen its…

The practice of courage is an important trait for public servants worldwide and a quality and attribute necessary for ethical behaviour in most institutional settings. In the literature, courage is described as a virtue, with managerial courage being depicted as a leadership attribute that encourages others to take the morally right course of action, given…

Silence is associated with many virtues: modesty, restraint and politeness. And, thanks to profoundly ingrained settler rules of institutional etiquette, people choose silence rather than confrontation or acknowledging difference. I am doing a Phd in free and frank advice because I have seen far too many officials and officers in public and private sectors fall…

Suppose you are working in public policy right now. In that case, you will know that the most precious commodity is not information – information is abundant. Nor is it knowledge – there is an oversupply of competent advisers – many of whom have a strong opinion or a long-held view and are confident in…