Mike Pezzullo. A gossiper who loved to peddle his influence

MWM After a lengthy FOI battle, the Pezzullo Inquiry received its report. It documents a series of violations and allegations. Rex Patrick with details (part 2).

It took 18 months to receive the report from the Government. Processes are still ongoing to remove some fixes.

In this disclosure, we present details of two of the seven allegations made against Mr. Pezzullo, including analysis of the evidence, findings of fact and final determination of the allegations.

Caught tangerine. Details of Mike Pezzullo investigation released

“Building a merit system”

Mr. Pezzullo allegedly used his position, power, status or authority to obtain a benefit or advantage for himself.

A) Attempting to influence or interfere with the appointment of individuals to Ministerial appointments to suit your own personal interests as Secretary of the Home Office

B) To seek information about Mr Briggs’ dealings with any Minister or staff of a Minister in order to further his interests as Home Secretary; and

C) attempt to influence the composition of the APS by conveying your personal views on the machinery of government changes for the purposes of views expressed to Ministers outside ordinary ministerial or Ministerial processes.

The basis for this allegation is that Mr Pezzullo sought to use Mr Briggs’s political connections as a tool to influence decisions made by prime ministers regarding Mr Pezzullo’s career, the structure of the APS and ministerial appointments.

One of the messages sent to Mr Briggs in November 2017 read: “The parliamentary pathway is now polluted with few exceptions. We need to secretly build a meritocracy and

He runs the government from bureaucracy, working with 4-5 strong and capable ministers.

He had joked in early July 2017 that he could possibly be given the Defense and Home Affairs ministries at the same time. In 2018, he advocated for fewer, larger departments.

Lynelle Briggs wrote:

“While Mr. Pezzullo clearly understands the concept of Ministerial accountability, I doubt that any reasonable person would think that ‘secretly building a meritocracy and running government from bureaucracy’ is appropriate for a Secretary to debate in our democratic system of government or is consistent with ordinary civil service accountability arrangements.”

Most of the remaining analyzes have been corrected (corrections are still being discussed), but Lynelle Briggs concludes her analysis with these words:

“While I am prepared to accept that public servants at this level certainly engage with stakeholders and discuss public policy and delivery import issues as part of their regular duties, I do not accept that this is a ‘business as usual’ arrangement. It was reckless and imprudent.”

Guilty as claimed!

The report stated that the above-mentioned allegations were confirmed. partly basically:

“Mr Pezzullo accepts that he used his relationship with Mr Briggs and Mr Briggs’s political connections with the two Prime Ministers to convey to the two Prime Ministers his views on the machinery of government and Ministerial appointments. and also accepted He stated that his communication with Mr Briggs also put him in a position to request, again through unofficial lines, information about the views of the Executive Government on matters relating to his portfolio as Home Secretary.

Lynelle Briggs found Mr Pezzullo’s behavior had fallen Below the standards of care and diligence expected from APS employeesavoided disclosure of conflicts of interest and were used inappropriately inside information or the position, status, power or authority by which the employee obtains or seeks to obtain gain or advantage for the employee or any other person; or vice versa, it is a disadvantage for another person.

gossip

The second of the allegations was that Mr Pezzullo gossiped and made disrespectful criticisms of ministers and public officials:

A) belittles the APS and other government personnel, including the views they may have expressed and/or the competence of their roles;

B) Persons who belittle or otherwise judge decisions taken by Ministers and/or the Attorney General; And

C) failing to demonstrate the levels of professionalism, courtesy and integrity otherwise expected of senior public officials by the government and the public.

These allegations relate specifically to the way Mr Pezzullo spoke about Ministers and public servants during his meetings with Mr Briggs, and Mr Briggs’ history as a known associate of senior Ministers and the Liberal Party generally.

Mr Pezzullo had a lot to say about some Ministers and some senior public servants and suggested to Mr Briggs that the Prime Minister “change the leadership”. He criticized, among others, the Secretary and Ministers of the Attorney General’s Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; “Don’t trust anything AGD has to offer – I don’t.”

Pezzullo described Mr Parkinson, the Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister, as “unfit for this”, incompetent and incompetent, “insecure”, “confused”, “lacking vitality” and “lacking movement”. The following quote from the report is an example:

“[Mr Pezzullo] He presents himself as an alternative Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet: ‘I might as well be in the PM&C and I’ll have to reluctantly accept that’ and ‘[i]If he’s stuck with PM&C work and wants a driver there, I’d do it for him. It’s not a job I’ve ever been interested in, but if he needs a finisher there, of course I’ll answer the call. But only if it gets stuck!’”

Some of the messages relating to this allegation were discussed at length with Mr Pezzullo and although Mr Pezzullo provided comprehensive and convincing responses to the concerns raised, these allegations were substantiated.

disrespectful behavior

In her findings, Lynelle Briggs expressed the view that relationships are the glue that holds us all together and public service is no exception. The APS Code makes clear through the APS Values ​​that public servants must work collaboratively and respect all people, and through the Code it makes clear that public servants must act with honesty and integrity in connection with their employment, act with care and diligence and treat everyone with respect.

He wrote:

“Mr Pezzullo, as Secretary, should have kept his views on Ministers to himself and left the pursuit of his views on the machinery of government regulation to the ordinary inter-ministerial processes where Secretaries submit views directly to their current Ministers and to the Prime Minister and Cabinet Office Secretary who will make recommendations if the Prime Minister so requests.

“For his conduct, Mr Pezzullo failed to treat Ministers and Secretaries with respect and courtesy when he criticized them in a way that was passed on or passed on to Premiers. By doing so, he also failed to meet his responsibilities to uphold the APS Values ​​and the good reputation of the APS.”

Lynelle Briggs determined that the Minister, Mr Pezzullo, would be aware that any statements he made, whether private or public, carried significant weight and were likely to weaken the positions of those concerned if the reported messages were reported to Prime Ministers, as he confirmed, or were disseminated more widely as a result of the publication of the messages.

Lynelle Briggs was satisfied that the second allegation had been proven and that a breach of the Code had been established by the conduct.

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