<description>&lt;p&gt;One of Australia’s top-paid public servants has been accused of trying to pull the strings of senior federal politicians.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Texts from Mike Pezzullo, the secretary of Home Affairs, to a Liberal Party powerbroker appear to show a bureaucrat who wasn’t adhering to his duty of impartiality. The messages show a senior public servant bad-mouthing ministers, attacking political decisions and attempting to influence portfolio appointments. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Today, columnist for &lt;em&gt;The Saturday Paper&lt;/em&gt; Paul Bongiorno, on how Pezzullo’s secret correspondence reveals a bigger problem in the public service, which could undermine our democracy. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Socials: &lt;/strong&gt;Stay in touch with us on &lt;a href="http://www.twitter.com/7ampodcast"&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Guest:&lt;/strong&gt; Columnist for &lt;em&gt;The Saturday Paper&lt;/em&gt;, Paul Bongiorno.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;See &lt;a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener"&gt;omnystudio.com/listener&lt;/a&gt; for privacy information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

7am

Solstice Media

The Pezzullo texts: How power really works in Canberra

SEP 28, 202315 MIN
7am

The Pezzullo texts: How power really works in Canberra

SEP 28, 202315 MIN

Description

One of Australia’s top-paid public servants has been accused of trying to pull the strings of senior federal politicians.

 Texts from Mike Pezzullo, the secretary of Home Affairs, to a Liberal Party powerbroker appear to show a bureaucrat who wasn’t adhering to his duty of impartiality. The messages show a senior public servant bad-mouthing ministers, attacking political decisions and attempting to influence portfolio appointments. 

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on how Pezzullo’s secret correspondence reveals a bigger problem in the public service, which could undermine our democracy. 


Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram

Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.