Whitlam redefined the Labor Party as the party of Deakinite liberalism and the natural home of good public servants like his father. He was, he said, the first Prime Minister of Australia who had lived in Canberra, ‘the son of a great public servant, among whose colleagues were great public servants’.

Today, Fraser says of Tange: ‘He was one of the best public servants Australia has ever had’.

While the Westminster system has not changed over the past 30 years, there has been major cultural change amongst Australian public servants.

And whosoever shall refuse any one of his three Essays … shall be deem'd a Helot or public Servant, shall pay a fifth part of his yearly Revenue, besides all other Taxes, to the Common-wealth for his Protection, and be incapable of bearing any Magistracy except such as is proper to the Law.

Immediately / Was Samson as a public servant brought, / In thir state Livery clad; before him Pipes / And Timbrels, on each side went armed guards, / Both horse and foot before him and behind / Archers, and Slingers, Cataphracts and Spears.

[…]notwithstanding an order which was given by Governor Phillip, in which the colony were informed, that the public servants (convicts) had no property, their clothing, time, and labour, being the property of the Government, and not at their own disposal.

For special reasons, the use of convicts as public servants warrants separate attention.

Public servant

Meaning

Noun

Synonyms