Describes the contemporary working environment of political staffers, their formal and less formal roles, the challenges they face, and the forces that have escalated the growth in their numbers and influence.

Drawing on extensive interviews with current and former ministers, ministerial staffers, and senior officials, this in-depth examination offers insight into the Australian political and democratic processes. Exploring the lives of Australia's federal ministers at work, this revealing account investigates how a new ministry learns and adapts to the responsibilities of governing as well as the means by which ministers learn to juggle time and other resources in their simultaneous, and sometimes conflicting, roles--as members of Parliament and Cabinet, as local constituency representatives, and...

A unique contribution to the study of Australian policy, politics, and government institutions, this book examines the position of chief of staff to the Australian prime minister from the perspective of key individuals who have held it. Exploring the support needs of Australian political leaders, it traces the forces that have shaped the growth and specialization of the prime minister s office since Gough Whitlam first formalized the appointment of a trusted senior person as head of his private office in 1972. Individuals in successive PMOs have long been recognized as key players, but their...