SES Ethics Workshop

1
SES Ethics Workshop
2
Compliance or Culture

• How to institutionalise ethics in public
  administration

3
Objectives

• By the end of the workshop SES Officers will
  have
• Demonstrated an understanding of the Integrity
  and Accountability regime in Queensland
• Applied the ethics principles to ethical dilemmas
• Developed a conceptual framework for their
  leadership of ethical practice and culture in
  their agencies
• Committed to action as champions of ethical
  practice and culture within their agencies and
  across government

4
A Conceptual Framework for Reform

• Strategy Structure Culture

5
STRATEGY
6
Integrity and Accountability reforms a call to
action

• Four key principles underpinning a robust
  integrity and accountability framework
• strong rules
• strong culture
• strong scrutiny
• strong enforcement

7
Government focus on ethics Summary of Reforms

• Strong Rules
• Including
• One Code of Conduct for the Queensland Public
  Service
• Gifts and Benefits policy
• Regulating the lobbyist industry

8
Government focus on ethics Summary of Reforms

• Strong Culture
• Including
• Ethical leadership
• Mandatory ethics training
• Queensland Public Sector Ethics Network

9
Government focus on ethics Summary of Reforms

• Strong Scrutiny
• Including
• Integrity Commissioner role expanded
• Requirement to publish departmental gifts
  registers
• Reform of State Procurement Policy

10
Government focus on ethics Summary of Reforms

• Strong Enforcement
• Including
• Crime and Misconduct Commission
• Public Service Commission
• Effective Public Interest Disclosure regime

11
Structure
12
Integrity Regime

• Crime and Misconduct
• Commission
• Crime and Misconduct Act
• Combat major crime
• Raising public sector integrity
• Protecting witnesses

• Public Service
• Commission
• Public Service Act
• Public Sector Ethics Act
• Public Interest Disclosure Act
• Ethics advice, policy and training

• Integrity
• Commissioner
• Integrity Act
• Integrity advice to
• Ministers/ CEO/ SES
• Lobbyist Register

Your Agency Internal ethics activities and advice

• Queensland Audit
• Office
• Auditor-General Act
• Independent assessment of
• financial management
• Help agencies improving
• financial management

• Ombudsman
• Ombudsman Act
• Independent complaints
• investigation
• Help agencies improving
• administrative and decision
• making practice

• Information
• Commissioner
• Right to Information Act
• Information Privacy Act

13
CULTURE
14
Public Sector Ethics Act

• Ethics Principles
• Integrity and impartiality
• Promoting the public good
• Commitment to the system of government
• Accountability and transparency

15
Integrity and impartiality

• Not prejudiced
• Unbiased
• Just

• Truthfulness
• Fairness
• Honesty

16
Promoting the public good

• actions that benefit
• the
• people of Queensland as a whole

17
Commitment to the system of government

• the government
• (elected by the people)
• and the
• laws and institutions
• (public service and courts)

18
Accountability and transparency

• to act responsibly so our actions and decisions
  can be explained

• being open and candid so our actions and
  decisions can be easily understood

19
Ethics in practice
20
What happens when things go wrong?
21
Ethical failure

• Hurricane Katrina New Orleans
• Failure to act in the public good
• Perception of lack of integrity and impartiality
  -lack of respect for the people
• Human impact significant additional distress to
  survivors and loss of life

22
Ethical failure

• Reconstruction of Iraq
• Failure to act in the public good
• Lack of integrity and impartiality
• Lack of transparency and accountability
• Human impact loss of security, services and
  human life

23
Ethical failure

• The AWB, DFAT and the Oil for Food Program
• Failure to act with integrity and impartiality
• Failure to act with accountability and
  transparency
• Failure to uphold laws
• Impact breach of UN sanctions, undermining of
  public confidence

24
Ethical failure

• Insert agency example

25
Putting the Conceptual Frameworkinto Practice

• Structure Culture Strategy

26
STRUCTUREin practice
27
Reform accountabilities for SES

• Gifts and benefits
• Declaration of interests
• Lobbyist register
• Employment separation procedures
• Interaction with ministerial staff
• Ethics advisory service
• Public Interest Disclosures
• Discipline processes

28
Reform accountabilities for SES

• Reforms to the State Procurement Policy
• from 1 July 2011, publication of
• details of awarded contracts over 10,000
• contracts over 10 million
• Independent oversight of procurement
• Legislation to allow issuing of apologies

29
Reform accountabilities for SES Code of
Conductfor the Queensland Public Service

• positive expression of the values
• that underpin effective public service
• Principles - 4 ethics principles
• Values - strengthening the principles
• Standards of conduct help us put the Code into
  practice

30
Reform accountabilities for SES Ethics training

• Legislative commitment for
• annual mandatory ethics training
• Workshop for CEOs conducted
• Training continued here and for all SES
• Support training in ethics and ethical
  decision-making for all staff

31
CULTUREin practice
32

• The public sector is held to an ethical
  standard not demanded of others.
• It must recognise the distinctive nature of its
  contribution to the public good and meet a
  demanding accountability regime.
• (Shergold)

33
Ethical decision-making

• ..possibly the most important act of courage
  for a public servant is to decide.
• Public administrators must be able to face the
  ambiguity and the paradoxical nature of ethics
  without being immobilised by them.
• (Lynch and Lynch, 2009)

34
(No Transcript)
35
Ethics advice

• Your peers
• Your agency ethics, human resources area, or
  legal area
• PSC Ethics Advisory Service
• 1300 038 472 www.ethics.qld.gov.au
• Crime and Misconduct Commission
• 3360 6060 www.cmc.qld.gov.au

36
STRATEGY in practice
37
Leadership

• A robust integrity system requires a public
  sector that emphasises strong leadership and a
  conscious dedication to ethical values Leaders
  must communicate the importance of ethical
  decision-making in the workplace and they must
  promote ethical behaviours in their day-to-day
  activities and decisions.
• (Government response to Integrity and
  Accountability in Queensland, 2009)
• Ethics must be part of mission and business
  strategy not just a matter of appointing an
  ethics officer or ethics committee.
• (Transparency International Australia)

38
Discussion questions

• How do you embed ethics into your organisations?
• What are the challenges?
• What approach will you take to develop an
  integrated response to the integrity and
  accountability reforms?

39
Discussion question

• ..a healthy organisational culture actively
  promotes congruence between the values of the
  organisations and the individuals working in it.
  
• (Casali and Day, 2010)
• What are the values of your organisation and how
  do you ensure they are reflected in strategy and
  culture?

40
Performance Commitment

• Research shows - ethical conduct in public
  administration increases employee morale
• Leaders must
• communicate the importance of ethical
  decision-making, and
• promote ethical behaviour in their day-to-day
  activities and decisions

41
Conclusion

• Where to from here
• What will YOU do
• to institutionalise ethics?