ALP International Projects has partnered with the University of Sydney's Graduate School of Government (GSG) to produce a course for political advisers.

Date:  21 May 2008

Sixteen senior advisors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan and Mongolia attended the course in Sydney from 3 to 8 February 2008.

“Very demanding and very useful to my practical duties as a political adviser”, course participant.

The course was delivered by Professor Geoff Gallop of the GSG, with contributions from a range of past and present public leaders, including former prime ministers, campaigners, consultants, pollsters and experts in public policy, constituency engagement and Asia and the Pacific.

“The relevance of the topics covered makes the course alive compared to the usual academic curriculum”, course participant.

The group visited two State government Ministerial Offices and were given a full briefing on the NSW State Plan by the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet.

“I found the program excellent, professionally managed, intellectually stimulating and politically relevant. The quality of the discussions was good because of the quality of the participants”, course participant.

The course focussed on issues associated with elections and election planning, political and public sector management, and strategic government in a twenty-first century context. The program ranged from a discussion of the New Security Agenda and its implications for the Asia Pacific Region to an account of the 2007 Australian election. Topics such as community engagement, the role of political advisors, strategic planning in a political context and issues management were also analysed and discussed.

* Images kindly supplied by Medaline Chang, Malaysia