An overdue change for the better - State board appointments

Every political party that has had the opportunity to appoint its supporters to the board of state companies has done so. 

In many instances, the appointments were justified and the nominee was suitably qualified and made a valuable contribution to the enterprise they were invited to join. The better ones, and there are many, put the idea of public service far ahead of any personal advancement.

It is an unfortunate reality, too, that very many inappropriate appointments have been made, often for the most spurious reasons. In too many cases, the process showed political patronage at its very worst and demeaned the organisation misused by politicians to advance the career of one of their supporters.