Ann Scott speaks about attempts to raise numbers of Police Service officers and other public servants drawn from Indigenous or non-English speaking backgrounds.
Ann Scott talks about changes to the Police Service after the Fitzgerald Inquiry and the setting up of the CJC, noting that the reforms were generally viewed positively by the police service, though there was some resentment of the new, tertiary educated officers.
Ann Scott speaks about the difficulties for women in the public service, including the glass ceiling, tokenism, sexism and work/life balance. She also speaks about changing recruitment policy, the rise of merit/qualifications based hiring, the introduction of equal opportunity measures, and the importance of women's networking.
Ann Scott talks about her work with the Public Sector Management Commission and the major reforms in which she was involved, including the privatisation of correctional facilities, the changes to the police service in line with the findings of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, and the rise of equal opportunity initiatives across the public service. She also reflects on the challenges posed to the reform agenda by the political cultures of individual departments.
Ann Scott discusses her position in the PSMC, and the role the commission played in the Goss Government's review and reform agenda, including the review of Police and Emergency Services, as well as issues of regionalisation.
Ann Scott briefly comments on the 1991 CJC report into the misuse of parliamentary travel funds and also discusses the long-lived popularity of the Goss Government (which she attributes to their reform agenda), and their eventual downfall (wrought by the alienation of the country electorates). She also notes the sometimes difficult relationship between the government and the public service that resulted from the large-scale reforms.
Ann Scott discusses Native Title, Indigenous policies, and the vastly improved relations between the government and Indigenous people under the Goss Government.
Ann Scott contrasts the attitude of the new Goss Government with that of the out-going Bjelke-Petersen Government, and comments on the pros and cons of the new government's review of the public service. She also comments on the Goss Government's implementation of the recommendations of the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
Ann Scott recalls her appointment as Principal Policy Officer in the Women's Policy Unit in 1990, her subsequent employment in the Public Sector Management Commission and the Social Policy Unit, and the impact of Goss and Rudd's reforms to the ministerial and public service. She highlights the highly interventionist nature of the reforms and the turbulence and difficulty of the time.
Peter Beattie talks about the need to placate the Queensland electorate by giving even the most radical policy the appearance of conservatism, including reforms to anti-discrimination legislation.
