Anne Tiernan

Anne Tiernan is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at Griffith University. She is Director of postgraduate and executive programs in policy analysis and public administration in Griffith’s School of Government and International Relations. Tiernan's research interests include: policy advice, executive governance, policy capacity, federalism and intergovernmental coordination. She is author of several books including: Lessons in Governing: A Profile of Prime Ministers’ Chiefs of Staff and The Gatekeepers: Lessons from Prime Ministers’ Chiefs of Staff (both with R.A.W. Rhodes, Melbourne University Publishing, 2014), Learning to be a Minister: Heroic Expectations, Practical Realities (with Patrick Weller, Melbourne University Press, 2010) and Power Without Responsibility: Ministerial Staffers in Australian Governments from Whitlam to Howard (UNSW Press, 2007). Tiernan is a member of the Member of the Public Records Review Committee of the Queensland State Archives and serves on the Board of Directors of St Rita’s College Ltd. Between 2008 and 2012 she was a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Queensland Public Service Commission. Tiernan consults regularly to Australian governments at all levels.

orcid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2888-2290

Caretaker Conventions in Australasia »

Minding the shop for government

Publication date: October 2014
In the second revised edition of this monograph, Jennifer Menzies and Anne Tiernan capably chart the often hazardous terrain of the ‘caretaker period’ that ensues from the time an election is called until a new government is formed. This is a landscape fraught with political and administrative dangers – particularly for public servants who are required to ‘mind the shop’ and keep the basically machinery of government going. The conventions represent an historical accretion of custom, practice and rules, often leavened with uncertainty. In tackling their subject, Menzies and Tiernan draw upon their shared past experiences as public servants and ministerial ‘staffers’ as well as the highest standards of academic scholarship – this is a ‘must read’ for politicians, public servants and students of government. The second edition expands on the first edition by documenting recent controversies and trends which have had an impact on caretaker conventions. The analysis of the contemporary application of caretaker conventions has been updated and new case studies included – particularly from the last federal election. Also included is additional material about lengthy government formation after election day and the management of caretaker conventions during that time. The New Zealand material has been revised and updated. The caretaker conventions Australia (PDF, 127KB) Australian Capital Territory (PDF, 187KB) New South Wales (PDF, 234 KB) Northern Territory (PDF, 175KB) Queensland (PDF, 94KB) South Australia (PDF, 224KB) Tasmania (PDF, 232KB) Victoria (PDF, 178KB) Western Australia (PDF, 430KB) New Zealand (PDF, 280KB)

Caretaker Conventions in Australasia »

Minding the Shop for Government

Publication date: October 2007
A revised and updated 2014 edition of Caretaker Conventions in Australasia is available. In this monograph, Anne Tiernan and Jennifer Menzies capably chart the often hazardous terrain of the ‘caretaker period’ that ensues from the time an election is called until a new government is formed. This is a landscape fraught with political and administrative dangers – particularly for public servants who are required to ‘mind the shop’ and keep the basic machinery of government going. The conventions represent an historical accretion of custom, practice and rules, often leavened with uncertainty. In tackling their subject, Tiernan and Menzies draw upon their shared past experiences as public servants and ministerial ‘staffers’ as well as the highest standards of academic scholarship – this is a ‘must read’ for politicians, public servants and students of government.