Summary:
Governance and integrity groups, including the Centre for Public Integrity, Australia’s leading anti-corruption think tank, have raised concerns about conflict-of-interest risks with consultancies like PwC hiring former MPs and high-ranking public servants. This practice, seen as contributing to government reliance on external consultants, comes under the spotlight amidst the PwC tax leaks scandal. The Centre for Public Integrity advocates ending this “revolving door” and enacting tougher post-separation employment provisions and transparency measures. The Victorian public sector union has suggested a three-year moratorium on former top-ranking public servants accepting roles with consultancies they worked with during their public service. The scandal has triggered discussions on improving the protection of Australia’s confidential information, as the practice of hiring ex-government staff poses potential risks to transparency and integrity.
This summary comes from the Australian Financial Review, was written by Samantha Hutchinson, and can be found here.