Dr Anne Tiernan is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at Griffith University, and the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) Research Program. She has worked in policy roles in both the Commonwealth and Queensland public sectors, and as a policy and research consultant. Dr Tiernan’s research interests include: executive advisory arrangements — particularly ministerial staffing arrangements and relations between ministerial offices and the public service, policy influence and public policy agenda-setting. Her book, Power Without Responsibility: Ministerial Staffers in Australian Governments from Whitlam to Howard published recently by UNSW Press, examines the implications of the growth of ministerial staffing arrangements, especially its impact on the quality of information and advice to decision-makers. Dr Tiernan is currently working on a major ARC-funded research project investigating the policy advisory capacity of the Australian Public Service (APS) and its ability to support decision-makers through its policy advising functions.

Jennifer Menzies is a Director with the consultancy Policy Futures. A former senior executive and Cabinet Secretary within the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet, she was responsible for the development of the government’s priorities and the implementation of the government’s agenda in all departments. Menzies has had extensive experience in policy development at the State and Commonwealth levels including the latest iteration of the Smart State Policy, the Capital City Policy and the E-Democracy Policy Framework. She is an M.Phil candidate in the School of Politics and Public Policy at Griffith University. Her topic is contemporary political leadership.