The Australia Institute proposes public servants should take an ‘affirmation’ that they will speak honestly at parliamentary inquiries.
Departmental secretaries should be required to take an affirmation to tell the truth before appearing before Senate estimates, according to a public policy think tank.
The Australia Institute proposes requiring public servants to promise to tell the truth before all parliamentary inquiries so they are less likely to fear looking silly in social media clips posted by politicians and social media influencers.
The Australia Institute co-CEO Dr Richard Denniss said voters should be able to see the powerful public servants – many of whom have more power than inquisitive backbenchers – they fund answer questions about how they spend taxpayer funds.