The Westminster Tradition

The Westminster Tradition
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Unpacking lessons for the public service, starting with the Robodebt Royal Commission. In 2019, after three years, Robodebt was found to be unlawful. The Royal Commission process found it was also immoral and wildly inaccurate.  Ultimately the Australian Government was forced to pay $1.8bn back to more than 470,000 Australians.  In this podcast we dive deep into public policy failures like Robodebt and the British Post Office scandal - how they start, why they're hard to stop, and the public service lessons we shouldn't forget.

  1. 9H AGO

    'Mad Cow Disease' part 2 - a bogus professor and a dead cat

    Part 2 of 4 on Mad Cow Disease: In this episode,  the cracks in enforcement are showing, panic is slowly boiling, and the science is catching up.  What we cover:  The panic spike when BSE appears in domestic catsThe danger of stopping at the legislation, without interrogating whether industry is complying and how you would know.The reassurance cycle – shock, anxiety, reassurance, repeat, and whether the Government could or should have said more.   The political landscape of EU export pressure, an era of deregulation, and expensive subsidiesFrom variable, localised enforcement to a centralised Meat Hygiene Service. Where we end up by late 1995 – no human cases yet, but the MHS has a horrifying revelation that undermines trust in the controls.   This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    33 min

  2. FEB 2

    'Mad Cow Disease' part 1 - a crisis without a crime

    We kick off a new series on 'Mad Cow Disease', or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and what it teaches us about governing when the science is uncertain, the consequences are enormous, but the risks are very remote. Why BSE became a lasting symbol of government failure and secrecy, even though major inquiries later found decisions were largely science led.  Where to draw the line for regulatory settings with big market consequences. Who really decides when portfolios collide, and who pays. Why Pedigree pet food had a surprising influence on the risk ‘appetite’Whether there is the authorising environment to act beyond the scientific advice.Spoiler alert: “over reacting” and “under reacting” are not opposites, they overlap. The brilliant podcast, ‘The Cows are Mad’ by BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rrhy/episodes/player The West Wing: Season 3, episode 9 (featuring Mad Cow disease). https://youtu.be/ouBr3F2qWMI?si=uecMkFaQFnMGVvyL&t=220 This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    32 min

  3. JAN 12

    How to do Big Reform

    We want to make lasting and meaningful change, but how do we get there? In this special episode Caroline interviews Frances Foster-Thorpe and Jason Tabarias about their insights into the skills and frameworks needed to tackle large, complex and ambitious reform. We cover:  Biting off what you can chew by picking two of three factors: volume, cost, qualityExamples of big Australian reforms that did and didn't hit the markLining up stakeholder expectations, the authorising environment, and operational capabilityStretching the political window of opportunity by looking up and outWhy sequencing can be a more productive conversation than prioritisationProposals that are needs or community-led, evidence based and implementation-ready Making cross-system collaboration work: everyone is a colleague, everyone has valuable knowledge, and everyone is responsible for doing as much as we can Tips for system diplomats and working with system diplomatsMark Moore's strategic triangle  The Three Horizons Framework Geoff Mulgan 'The Art of Public Strategy' This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    1h 12m

  4. 12/22/2025

    How It Started v How It’s Going: 3 years of TWT

    Buy a sports car or start a podcast. It all could have gone the way of a new hobby, with audio kit languishing in a drawer. Instead, this podcast has become a study and celebration of the tricky craft of public service, and it's a source of pure joy for us.  Reflecting on three years of TWT:  Humble and haphazard beginningsWhat’s changed since the Robodebt Royal Commission Our favourite interviews, scandals, episodesLifting the veil on moments of chaosOur favourite moments with listeners (and do we need an identifier for the TWT listener cohort?)Learnings on the journey and things we’ve changed our minds onAnd that’s a wrap for 2025. Till next year! Alison listing all the places we’ve “recorded” sounds remarkably like Shaggy… https://youtu.be/p4qqOHllgps?si=uEHlcD6JMW9Jabng  ‘Abundance: How We Build a Better Future’ by Ezra Klein, Derek Thompson: https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Ezra-Klein,-Derek-Thompson-Abundance-9781805226055 Nigella Lawson reading ‘How to eat’ https://www.audible.com.au/pd/How-to-Eat-The-Pleasures-and-Principles-of-Good-Food-Audiobook/1473567351 Colin Firth’s indecent gravel: https://www.amazon.com/The-End-of-Affair-Graham-Greene-audiobook/dp/B0081293SO  Anything narrated by Richard Roxburgh https://www.audible.com.au/search?searchNarrator=Richard+Roxburgh&ref_pageloadid=not_applicable&pf_rd_p=771c6463-05d7-4981-9b47-920dc34a70f1&pf_rd_r=C0M8084B840VVEERZRJ5&plink=IArL51tFosgDIpzy&pageLoadId=FlLq75E1cuzEn4oS&creativeId=adcc4fec-4d90-49d1-997e-8be21d68ce7f&ref=a_search_c3_lNarrator_1_2_1 This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    52 min

  5. 12/08/2025

    Buzzword Bingo

    In this Christmas special, Caroline, Alison and Danielle unwrap the public service’s most gear-grinding buzzwords, what they’re supposed to mean and what they have now quietly become. With words crowdsourced from the fine listeners of TWT, we talk: Big serious words and how their technical meanings have driftedThe corporate visitors who arrived and never leftWords that hide fear or indecision How co-design can be a handbrake, and why government struggles to set boundaries on what is genuinely up for shaping.Word of the year: nature-positive The brilliant book that Alison refers to is ‘The Right Kind of Wrong’ by Amy Edmondson: https://www.dymocks.com.au/right-kind-of-wrong-by-amy-edmondson-9781847943781 This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    47 min

  6. 11/24/2025

    Imagine if... you were leading an orchard of bad apples

    Your shiny new promotion turns out to be more than you bargained for.  In this scenario-based "Imagine if..." episode, Caroline and Danielle assume the role of a newly promoted manager who steps into a team they didn’t choose and some character-building challenges.  ⚠️ Mild trigger warning for the depiction of toxic colleagues - we've all had one! We cover:  Walking the floor and gathering intelHow to give the boss response to a credibility challengeClarifying the authorising environment Lifting work quality When to whip out the whiteboard to create a two-way learning exercise Setting a vision and direction for the team that’s sensitive to the past Responding to bad behaviour that’s not quite misconductTo report or not to report; the risks of weighing inGood egg managers in the Re Meagher case https://hearsay.org.au/graduate-lawyer-fails-in-fair-work-act-bullying-claim/ This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    56 min

  7. 11/10/2025

    Imagine if … your sleepy grants program woke up

    When politics meets process, what’s a conscientious public servant to do? This “Imagine if…” episode puts Alison and Danielle in the shoes of a project manager caught between legality, leadership and media heat — and explores what good judgment looks like when everyone’s waiting to be told what’s important. The first in an “Imagine if…” series as requested by listeners — exploring the messy, real-world dilemmas of public administration. We cover: ·      Managing up and whether to buy into your boss’ crazy ·      The hurry up and wait of briefing on options  ·      Verbal directions and when to turn them into written confirmation  ·      When to seek advice on legality  ·      Documentation! And the safeguard of personal file noting ·      The fallacy of ‘not my job’ when every problem for government is a problem for everyone in government ·      Having multiple comms plans and when not to pick up the phone ·      The impacts of external pressure on internal process.  ·      Trap for the young players: informal intel travels very quickly  ·      Who gets to make the decision? ·      Building in agility to allow for changing priorities Shout out to the  Normal Gossip podcast for inspiring this episode: https://open.spotify.com/show/0KVZ16mLZ1bbNlnKemYTzm  This podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    52 min

  8. 10/27/2025

    Inside the public service's ‘Human Handbrake’: why reform stalls and how to fix it

    Demos has released a fascinating paper, The Human Handbrake, on the five human habits that stall public sector reform. In this episode we pick through each of them - fear, heroics, tribes, tidiness, and tempo - and test practical fixes from risk stratification to outcome-focused equity. Topics covered include: fear-driven risk culture and how to stratify risksafe-to-fail spaces vs non-negotiable protectionspolicy hero incentives vs long-term stewardshiprecruitment, merit, and better referencestribes and bridges between centre and frontlineproximity, exchanges, and communities of practicesimplicity bias vs equity and local textureoutcome measurement, real-time data, and storytellingpolitical tempo, accountability, and transparent milestonesculture as accelerator, not brake.We covered a wild variety of content in this episode. Here's a smattering: Demos The Human HandbrakeWhat do blueberries have to do with my job?The Trust EquationCONTAINED 30 minutes. 3 rooms. One truth about youth justice.e61 research on the shift in social spend “Dependency should be debated”The newspaper wall in the Kingsman moviesThis podcast was recorded on Kaurna land, and we recognise Kaurna elders past and present. Always was, always will be. Now for some appropriately bureaucratic disclaimers.... While we have tried to be as thorough in our research as busy full time jobs and lives allow, we definitely don’t guarantee that we’ve got all the details right. Please feel free to email us corrections, episode suggestions, or anything else, at thewestminstertraditionpod@gmail.com. Thanks to PanPot audio for our intro and outro music. 'Til next time!

    50 min
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About

Unpacking lessons for the public service, starting with the Robodebt Royal Commission. In 2019, after three years, Robodebt was found to be unlawful. The Royal Commission process found it was also immoral and wildly inaccurate.  Ultimately the Australian Government was forced to pay $1.8bn back to more than 470,000 Australians.  In this podcast we dive deep into public policy failures like Robodebt and the British Post Office scandal - how they start, why they're hard to stop, and the public service lessons we shouldn't forget.

Information

  • Creator
    The Westminster Tradition
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    71
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Westminster Tradition
  • Show Website
    The Westminster Tradition

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