Secretaries Board and Strategic Leadership Group communiques: 8 February 2023

The Secretaries Board met at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) and discussed the following matters.

APS Integrity Taskforce

Professor Glyn Davis AC, Secretary of PM&C, noted the substantial program of work underway to strengthen integrity across the Australian public sector, including the establishment of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, as well as the significant issues emerging in the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.

Visit to Australia by the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste

This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, His Excellency General Taur Matan Ruak, to Australia as a Guest of Government from 7 to 9 February.

In Canberra, the prime ministers reaffirmed both countries' steadfast support for the Australia–Timor-Leste partnership, including through defence and economic cooperation, labour mobility and new areas such as critical infrastructure.

Visit to Canberra by the Prime Minister of New Zealand

Today Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the new Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins, to Canberra. It is Prime Minister Hipkins' first international visit since being sworn in.

The prime ministers discussed people issues, climate change and working together in the Pacific.

Australia and New Zealand have a strong and enduring relationship defined by respect, trust and genuine bonds between our people. This year is a milestone year for the trans-Tasman relationship. Our countries will celebrate:

Census participation strategies tested

Research by the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) explored how different wording affects how people complete Australia’s biggest data collection exercise – the Census of Population and Housing.

The Census is the most comprehensive data collection in Australia. Conducted every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), it involves over 10 million households and 25 million people and provides invaluable information on the social, economic and cultural characteristics of Australians.

Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce Terms of Reference

Overview

The Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce (the Taskforce) is an independent group of eminent women established to provide advice to the Australian Government to support the advancement of women’s economic equality and achieve gender equality, as committed to in the Women’s Budget Statement October 2022-23.

The priority contributions of the Taskforce centre on:

Prime Ministerial visit to Papua New Guinea

Prime Minister Albanese has concluded a two day visit to Papua New Guinea where he joined Prime Minister James Marape for their first Annual Leaders’ Dialogue in Port Moresby. The visit was an opportunity to strengthen the close partnership between our two countries based on high levels of economic and security cooperation, shared interests and strong cultural, sporting, church and labour mobility links.