PS-sssst... Shear clevernessThere’s nothing woolly about the way they think at the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, specially when they’re drumming up interest in better productivity for sheep farmers. Announcing an industry presentation at the rural metropolis of Birregurra this week, the DPI pulled out all the stops to get as many local shepherds and sheep fanciers as it could to flock to the event by posing the burning question on everyone’s chapped lips. “Is scanning for ewe?” the cunningly crafted invitation asked. What a way to ram a message through!  Freeze goes cold
Fascinating news from the international file this week with Public Service staff in the Canadian province of Ontario copping an extended pay freeze to counter the ongoing ravages of the GFC. What fascinates PS-sssst however is that the freeze only applies to individual PS staff who choose not to bargain collectively. Unfortunately for the Government this means the 75% of the PS which is ‘unionised’ aren’t affected by the freeze and the high hopes it had of setting an example of restraint didn’t work so it has to try again. “This time,” the Government says, “the proposed freeze would be broader, covering not just salaries but also bonus pay and other incentives for CEOs and other executives.” No mention of what happens if they decide to join the union too! Numbers up
Still in snowy Canada, a research study has just found that a majority of citizens support their Government hacking away at PS jobs if it helps balance the national books.  While such a finding exposes the ungrateful and short-sighted side of the Canadian population, the media outlet reporting it showed an excellent commitment to its readers by explaining how accurate the survey results actually were.“The margin of error for a survey of 1,209 respondents using a probability sample is +/- 2.8%, 19 times out of 20,” the report ended with. Oh for such a valuable disclaimer on Australian media reports. Instead, our myriad of media survey stories claim all manner of improbable findings, dutifully reported as fact but in reality just dodgy, damaging and dangerous attempts to influence public opinion. And what makes the Australian experience worse is ... it works! 
Hard work
And now from our ‘That’s Not News’ newsdesk comes the very informative story of the palliative care nurse who talked to a great many of her patients nearing death, discussing with them whether they had any regrets. In a book we’re hoping to track down for the PS News Book Review pages, the nurse summarises what they said and you’ll never guess what comes in the top two. “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard” was the second most common regret. There’s gotta be a lesson in there somewhere! Non-fighting words
And finally, from the labyrinthine corridors of foreign policy comes the astounding news this week that Australia and Al Quaeda have linked arms in the fight to convince the very naughty people of Syria to become an Islamic state.  Having visited Syria, walked the streets and talked to the people, I’m here to predict it ain’t going to happen.Like Australia, Syria is a democratic country (except they have more referendums than we do and most of the people love their leader) and if anything, most Syrians want more freedoms and to be more like Australia. After decades of international interference however, they have a low national tolerance for dissent or uprisings, hence the awful tragedy unfolding at the moment. Of course I could be lost in one of those policy corridors but at least I’ve bothered to go and see. Australia closed its embassy there 30 years ago. Until next week... 
|
|
