Former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld once quipped: “You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.” Well, if Australia had to go to war with the Australian Public Service, we may as well surrender now.

According to the Australian: 

One of the country’s most accomplished and respected public servants has lashed the political class for being idle on economic reform during the past decade and for striving to stoke fear for partisan advantage, while also turning international relationships into a tool for domestic political gain.

The reference to the...