Whole departments are being dismantled within the space of a day, and thousands of employees are showing up to their places of work only to be sent home without explanation, and not knowing if they will remain employed or not. It’s an absurd and terrifying situation. But it is one which some influential Australians would like to see happen here. Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, as well as Adam Gilmour CEO of Gilmour Space Technologies, have both made public calls for an Australian DOGE.

Who Is Government?: The Untold Story of Public Service, reviewed opposite, has recently been published which showcases several American civil servants who, through the course of their careers, have done incredible and extraordinary things. The Weekly Show podcast hosted by John Stewart recently talked to the author and editor of the book, Michael Lewis.

Asked how something as extreme as DOGE could happen, Mr Lewis responds “People have this lazy stereotype in their mind about what a federal worker is, and that lazy stereotype enables DOGE. But if everybody knew these people, they would be outraged on their behalf.”

Mr Lewis goes on to say “We laud the private sector, because we love wealth and personal success. And there is a perception that if you were good, you wouldn’t be working in government.” However, what Lewis discovered in talking to civil servants and in researching what the public service does, is that the public sector does all the hidden heavy lifting of society.

“The government is the place where all the problems that the private sector can’t solve go to get solved,” he said. “Hard decisions get made by government. Decisions that aren’t going to make money or be popular. Government solves the problems that the private sector will not touch because there is no money in it. Things that are considered utility, and therefore, taken for granted.”