Meredith Edwards, Emeritus Professor at the University of Canberra, has written a comprehensive analysis of the appointments process to public boards in Australia. Australia has yet to embark on the significant reform of the process seen in countries such as the UK and Canada, where change was seen as vital to maintain any confidence in...

As previously identified by the Democratic Audit of Australia, the making of politically tainted appointments to non-departmental public agencies can undermine the public value of these institutions and obstruct democratic processes.1 In most cases, independence from government is one of the major reasons for the establishment of these agencies. Parliament has decided that certain functions...

The Reserve Bank’s relationship with government is working well, except from an anachronistic process of appointing board members, writes Nicholas Gruen.