“Utopia”: Fact or fiction

The Melbourne School of Government hosted a comedy debate as part of Public Sector Week with the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA Victoria). The ABC TV show “Utopia” is a satire about working in the Australian government, first broadcast in 2014. The debate sought to answer the questions:

What happens when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide? Can the public service turn our dreams into reality or is it the barrier to solving the world’s problems?

To solve this age-old question, Melbourne School of Government brought together a stellar line up of debaters from across the public and non-profit sector. The participants were:

MC: Professor Helen Sullivan, Director, Melbourne School of Government

Moderator: Professor Carolyn Evans, Dean, Melbourne Law School

“Utopia”is fact Team:

• Mr Ary Laufer, Executive, Strategy, Quality and Partnerships, Wise Employment
• Mr Ben Rimmer, CEO, City of Melbourne
• Ms Maria Katsonis, Director (Governance) Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victoria; public policy fellow, Melbourne School of Government

“Utopia” is fiction Team:

• Ms Katy Haire, Deputy Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, Victoria
• Professor Peter Gahan, Director, Centre for Workplace Leadership; Professor of Management, University of Melbourne
• Ms Rebecca McParland, Manager, Therapeutic Justice, Courts Policy, Civil Justice, Department of Justice, Victoria; and Master of Public Administration student, Melbourne School of Government

Watch a clip of the debate where the fiction side is represented by Ms Katy Haire, Deputy Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, Victoria. The fact side is Ms Maria Katsonis, Director (Governance) Premier and Cabinet and public policy fellow Melbourne School of Government.