Advice on the big issues

The Productivity Commission plays a big role in helping mould government policy, writes Denise Cullen

Corporate types aren't the only ones waiting with bated breath for the release of the Productivity Commission's draft report on executive remuneration this month. In 104 submissions, shareholders, self-funded retirees and self-described 'ordinary workers' have all had a say on what needs to change with executive pay packets and hefty golden handshakes.

But commission chairman Gary Banks points out that there are no simple answers.

'That the commission has been given the task -- with nine months to investigate and analyse the issues -- demonstrates that the government is well aware of the risks of hasty intervention in this area,' he told industry forums in June. 'Like them or loathe them, large public companies and the executives who run them, play an integral role in the overall performance of the Australian economy, and any regulatory changes would need to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater.'

As the federal government's independent research and advisory body on a range of economic, social and environmental issues, executive remuneration is just one of many issues investigated by the commission.

Charged with helping governments make better policies in the long-term interest of Australians, the commission also has looked at gambling regulation, paid parental leave and copyright restrictions on the parallel importation of books.

'[The commission] is relied on by governments to provide research and advice on some really tricky and important policy issues,' Banks says. This complexity and political sensitivity 'means our reports get a lot of scrutiny and media attention and have to be of high quality, so we obviously also need quality people', he adds.

Most staff are professional researchers, not just economists. Lawyers, statisticians and social researchers can all find a place within the commission.

'Our researchers are highly qualified, many with honours degrees or more,' Banks says. 'We value people who can analyse issues in depth and then communicate the results so that anyone can understand them.

'This, of course, is easier said than done and we provide plenty of on-the-job support, especially for our graduates and younger staff.

'When they join us, our new staff soon find that they not only have a varied diet of fascinating projects to work on but also enough time to get their teeth into the issues, [which is] a rare thing within government these days. They also know that their work is going somewhere, that it will have an influence on key policy outcomes for the benefit of the Australian community.'

The commission has about 190 staff and 10 commissioners. 'The former are permanent public servants, whereas the commissioners are statutory appointees, typically on five-year terms,' Banks says.

'There are currently more commissioners than ever before, reflecting the fact that more of them are part time these days as well as our burgeoning workload.'

Though the organisation is relatively small, with low turnover, the commission recruits eight to 10 graduates at the beginning of each year and a variety of vacancies arise throughout any year at all levels of the organisation.

'For example, three new commissioners were recently appointed under the government's new transparent processes for statutory appointments,' Banks says. 'Two of them are women and, indeed, nearly half of our people are women. We have also recently appointed project branch managers as well as researchers in both offices.

'While we obviously have people with different levels of seniority and responsibility, we are not a hierarchical place in how we go about our work. I always tell the new crop of graduates that their ideas can be as influential as anybody's in the commission, including mine, as long as they are good ideas.

'Given the pressures and expectations on the organisation to deliver, we couldn't have it any other way, internal debate and discussion are crucial to our work.'

The commission offers a range of opportunities and career paths.

Some staff are on secondments at any one time, some in other areas of government and some overseas. For example, one researcher is based at a think tank in Paris. 'Many of our alumni have gone on to have very successful careers at the highest levels of government, academe, business and international agencies,' Banks says.

While much of the organisation's work is commissioned by governments and thus reflects their policy and reform priorities, the commission can also help identify what some of those priorities should be by doing its own research into areas where there may be big gains from reform.

'For example, the commission has done a lot of work into how environmental and resource issues can be addressed in the most cost-effective ways,' Banks says.

The next big reform agenda governments are embracing relates to people: improving their skills, their health and their participation in work and society.

'The commission and its staff are willing contributors in this third wave of reform, an exciting place to be.'