Lesley Clark discusses relationships within the public service under Goss and Beattie. She emphasises the importance of personality and reflects on the roles of Kevin Rudd and Ken Smith. She discusses the public service reforms introduced by the Goss Government.
John Strano discusses the relationship between the public service and the government during the Goss era. He notes the feelings in the Premier's Department when he joined. He describes his role in the investment branch during this period and some the achievements of the section over the next five years.
David Hamill discusses the nature of the relationships between ministers and department staff and describes the mood upon his appointment as Minister for Transport following the successful Labor election win. He describes the appointment of his ministerial staff and the restructuring of the Department of Transport following his appointment as minister. He comments on the gulag.
Brian Head discusses the sacking, redeployment and kitchen leave of senior public servants at the start of the Borbidge Government. He notes that because he could not be sacked, he was re-deployed to the Department of Main Roads at a lower pay level in 1996. He discusses Borbidge's re-appointment of many Bjelke-Petersen era public servants, and the public discontent with these actions.
Brian Head discusses the public service gulag, and what he calls the political brutality of the early Goss years. He describes the policy limbo which he faced at the Premier's Department, noting that the new government did not trust the existing public servants, and discusses the reshaping of the section under Kevin Rudd in 1991.
Rob Borbidge discusses the alleged 'hit list' of public servants and compares the Goss Government's approach to reconfiguring the public service after a change of government to his own approach.
Brian Head recalls his arrival in Brisbane in 1982, and the concern with the apparently unassailable Bjelke-Petersen regime. He briefly discusses the eventual downfall of the Bjelke-Petersen Government, and the election of the Goss Government on a reform platform. He discusses his position as the first head of policy in the Premier's Department in 1990, and discusses the selection process in the context of the post Bjelke-Petersen merit-based appointment system. He also mentions the gulag to which many senior Bjelke-Petersen public servants were sent by the Goss Government.
