The brain drain from the immigration department is well on its way with ‘quite serious numbers…quite serious talent’ leaving the department, since its takeover by Mike Pezzullo, according to a report on the website themandarin.com. What’s left are bosses enforcing a ‘command and control’ style of operation which is enveloping the department in a ‘culture of fear’.

The long-feared purge of Immigration's Senior Executive service by their new boss Mike Pezzullo is expected soon with up to 20 per cent of the department's SES expected to be shown the door, according to media reports. In addition to the purge of the top ranks, about 100 of Immigration's 530 middle managers at Executive Level 2 classification are expected to be clearing out their desks by the end of 2015.

Is Mike Pezzullo, in recasting DIBPs mission, getting rid of anyone likely to stand in his way? If so, at what cost.

“…there are signs confidence in the department is low among immigration bureaucrats, including some of Australia’s most committed and experienced experts,” according to a report by Stephen Easton on the website themandarin.com. “Deputy Secretaries Liz Cosson, Wendy Southern and Mark Cormack have all handed in their resignations…At least two first assistant secretaries, including the chief lawyer, have also jumped ship along with at least two assistant secretaries.”

The report says that that things have gotten so bad that ‘It is not known who is performing the key roles…nor is the effect that such a dramatic loss of corporate knowledge and policy capability will have on the organisation. “

It was no surprise that DIBPs usually reticent media department was unable to provide any answers or somehow take control of the mystery and poor publicity around the issue.

Perhaps it is the ‘culture of fear’ that is apparently pervading the department and the more restricted flow of information apparently being demanded by the new bosses whom sources in the report say want to be addressed by their ‘formal titles rather than first names.’

“I see it as a really disruptive process,” said Keski-Nummi, a researcher at the Centre for Policy Development, in the report. “It’s a sort of wrecking period, which is really sad. It’s like the end of a dream; the post-World War II dream of nation building, and cultural diversity. And instead, now it’s like we’ve got to fear migration; we’ve got to fear diversity, so we’ve got to fear [what are actually] our strengths.”