The frustration of genuine expertise in this pandemic is palpable. But expertise has never translated…

The frustration of genuine expertise in this pandemic is palpable. But expertise has never translated directly into political action. Even the collective of a university doesn’t. Humans solved this problem though. They developed institutions to embed knowledge with power. /2 https://t.co/VdoTA0L9vF

These are the inaugural heads of the Australian Public Service, the APS. Pictured in 1901, at Federation. Public or civil service, the name tells you what you need to know. A large body of expert people providing service to the public. They invented the public in Australia. /3 https://t.co/HFYNNN3qZv

The public is not an enumeration of people, it’s an analytical, data-driven construct, of human interaction. It’s not visible, except in the data. The APS has ‘run’ Australia for over 120 years. Not politicians. The expertise and accumulated knowledge is staggering. /4 https://t.co/1VbA2MS4tS

It’s thousands of experts, dedicated entirely to running the country, for the public. It’s all that provides our historical continuity, from one generation to the next. Elected politicians can be furniture salesmen, the idea they know how to run a country is ridiculous. /5 https://t.co/hHGXLaxReu

They couldn’t say a single sensible thing without the briefings from the APS. I Tweeted this only because I see people puzzled every day about why throwing profound Covid expertise into public discussion doesn’t change anything. We’re talking to the wrong people. /6 https://t.co/7edMDIaeCP

Elected politicians from both sides have been working for decades to sideline the APS. You’re honestly wasting your time asking politicians to do things like public health. Most of them don’t even know what it is. Our modern tragedy is an institutional one. /7 https://t.co/CILFBMcZXD

Politicians have NEVER been interested in knowledge. Those who are would always put popularity first, if push came to shove, because that’s how they keep their jobs. Democracy and the public (and public health) are creations of the public service. /end https://t.co/mtKyw5otAV