The Wire

This week has seen a clamping down on the ability of parliament to question public servants in depth. During a Senate Estimates Committee Hearing yesterday, Senator Nick Minchin announced that Federal Cabinet had ruled any questioning of Departmental officials on the Australian Wheat Board scandal out of bounds. Professor Stephen Bartos is a former Finance Department Deputy Secretary, and he now heads up the National Institute for Governance. He discuss the implications of the move live on air.