Chair of the Standards In Public Life Commission Karin Thompson closed a week of lunchtime talks on good governance on Friday May 10, 2013, with a discussion of the work of her committee.

Asked what messages she had for public servants seeking to raise to standards in public life, Ms Thompson shared a number of principles that she said were key.

Embracing transparency she said helped Government agencies to better get their messages across to the public.

She further urged public servants to be mindful of the fine line between their public and private lives, and called on them to develop and internalise a working definition of conflict of interest that they might apply in their duties and personal activities. To close she reminded them to that the perception of conflict of interest could be as dangerous as the reality.

Other speakers during the week included the Governor, the Auditor General, the Commissioner of Police, and the new team of designates that will lead the Elections Office from July 1 of this year.

The talks were organised by the Commissions Secretariat to raise civil service awareness of key issues related to governance in the lead-up to the General Election on May 22.