Perhaps some do, but that can’t be said of Services Australia executives giving evidence to the Community Affairs Legislation Committee on Monday (3 June). Liberal senators Linda Reynolds and Maria Kovacic were unforgiving as they fired question after question at Ms Smith over the appointment of a speechwriter. And here’s the rub: the speechwriter was contracted to Government Services Minister Bill Shorten and works primarily from his office. Before the lunch break, Ms Smith admitted under scrutiny that the agency had sufficient capacity to fill the role internally. She writes for Services Australia as well, and she is mentoring and training internal communications officers.
