The government members' secretariat: the beating heart of Australia's PR state

Abstract

The concept of the PR State was introduced to Australia by Ian Ward in a paper for ANZCA 2003. Ward described the increasing resources being devoted to a whole-of-government approach to communications strategy. The Government Members' Secretariat (GMS) was established in 1996 when the Howard government came to power. The purpose of the GMS is to assist government MPs run their offices and disseminate government and party information to them. Responsibility for the GMS was transferred in 1998 from the Department of Finance and Administration to the Chief Whip's Office, effectively making it unaccountable to the parliament. The GMS came under public scrutiny in 2004 when the opposition alleged that it played a role in government 'dirt digging' on the opposition. This episode brought unprecedented and unwanted attention to this small but important cog in the government's public relations infrastructure. The allegations of dirt digging, however, are a distraction from the real influence of the GMS. Its importance lies in the way it connects the government's national communications strategy with individual members of parliament, most notably those members in marginal seats. This allows government policy releases, advertising and other communication on behalf of the executive to be made timely and relevant to the grassroots House of Representatives campaigns that help win elections. The GMS is a prime example of the way that government and party communication strategies have become inextricably linked.