OVERBLOWN OR OVERLOAD? MINISTERIAL STAFF AND DILEMMAS OF EXECUTIVE ADVICE

Ministerial staff provide essential support to overworked ministers, but their position within Australia's system of government is unclear. Their involvement in a variety of controversies has raised questions about whether they pose a challenge to traditional Westminster principles, particularly relationships between ministers and their public service advisers. Ministerial staff are growing in number and power, but fall outside parliamentary scrutiny; their presence may allow ministers to evade responsibility. There is an obvious management gap in their supervision. Better ways must be found to accommodate their presence and prevent damage being done to political institutions and processes.