from holding office in a political party or publicly expressing controversial political viewpoints, while less senior civil servants at an intermediate (managerial) level must generally seek permission to participate in political activities. The most junior civil servants are permitted to participate in political activities, but must be politically neutral in the exercise of their duties. In Australia, public servants may be members of political parties and participate in political activities. If they do participate in such activities, they are expected to avoid creating the impression that the government department they work for endorses such activities or that queries or applications will be handled otherwise than impartially. Public servants may not stand for Parliament. Any public servant seeking election to Parliament must resign before being nominated. However, public servants may stand for election to local government bodies. What Should the New Constitution Provide? There can be no doubt that the present Public Service is, certainly at the higher levels, heavily politicised, with the appointment of the PSC and of heads of ministries entirely in the hands of the Executive. This could be corrected by including provision in the new constitution along the following lines: 1. Direct political control of the Public Service should, as far as possible, be eliminated. 2. The process of nomination and appointment of the members of the PSC should be more open and transparent. If commissioners are to be appointed or approved by Parliament, then at least there is a chance for debate, even if in the end the will of the party with a majority in Parliament prevails. 3. As for heads of ministries, their appointment should not be in the hands of the executive. There is, on the other hand, no reason why heads of ministries should necessarily have been career public servants with their appointment merely being the final step in their public service career. A lot of dead wood can accumulate in the public service and individuals can get very set in their ways. In principle, it should be possible to appoint suitably qualified outsiders to be the heads of ministries. Appointment could be by the PSC, with an open system of nomination, coupled with public hearings. 4. On the subject of political activities by public servants, it would probably be safer, in a very politically polarised country and in the absence of a vigorous free press, to insist that public servants should not members of political parties. Any public servant who wishes to be involved in political activities should resign, as identification by a public servant with a particular political party is contrary to the principle that the public service should be apolitical. ___________________________ 73