A terrific few days this week for our beloved Queen, marking 70 years of monarching Australia and a few other countries around the globe as well as her home in England where the celebration went on for four whole days.
Australia’s contribution to the party was to rename a small island in the capital city’s Lake Burley Griffin by christening Aspen Island- named after the Aspen tree – ‘Queen Elizabeth II Island’ to name it after her majesty.
Pardon PS-sssst!’s cynicism but since there is only one building on the island – presumably among the Aspen trees – and that’s a lovely carillon (pictured) presented to Canberra by the people of Britain to mark the capital’s 50th birthday in 1963.
By renaming the island after the Queen are we not simply handling the carillon back to our British brethren who gave it to us to keep?
Only time – and chime – will tell!
Ministerial equality?
And while on the subject of change, the new national Government has taken its place after the recent election and has been busily rearranging the ‘Machinery of Government’ to suit their driving but one particular change looks to have missed the party’s gender equity boat.
As a long-time supporter of workplace equality, PS-sssst! would have expected the new regime to show equivalence loud and clear when it took over the reins, and not merely pick up a leftover of its predecessors.
While the new government wins points for appointing 10 women into its ministerial ranks, it could have been a little more thoughtful when choosing which ones went where.
Appointing a male as the Minister for Defence is understandable because boys like playing with guns and boats and aeroplanes etc but PS-sssst! is of the view it could have done better than confine a female Minister to the classically typical chore-ridden task of Minister for Home Affairs!
We wonder if the day will ever come when a woman is chosen to manage Defence and a male tied down to the affairs at home.
Fire fighting in good plans
To Victoria now where the State’s Country Fire Authority (CFA) has called on its members to roll up their sleeves for the annual Emergency Services blood donation drive.
And while the call is not as dramatic as a call to go out and fight a fire, it is well worth reporting as a public service organisation doing something of great value to the public it serves.
Being an annual event, the CFA blood donation has done it before, and this year the Chief Officer who pulls the strings is an Acting Chief Officer, but one whose name gives him a closer than usual understanding of fire activities and how to deal with them.
CFA’s Acting and Aptonym Chief Officer is the highly appropriate Garry Cook.
A noted review
A music break now where Rama Gaind opens the notes of her weekly giveaway with the life and sounds of international Australian singer Keith Urban, the book!
To win a copy of Jeff Apter’s biography of Keith, all we needed to do was tune up our melody and chant to Rama what Keith said about Nashville.
The answer is ‘(Nashville’s) not my dream, it’s my destiny’ and the four lucky warblers who hummed that answer to Rama were Kate D from the national Department of Education, Skills and Employment; Suzanna A from the Australian Border Force; Jenny D from the Australian Taxation Office; and Elizabeth P from NSW’s Public Works Department.
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone for taking part. The books will be on the way to their new owners very soon.
For another chance to put Rama’s singing to the test simply tune in to one of her rhythmic reviews of either this Book Heartfelt Leadership at this PS News link – and hit the right note – or her other reviewed Book Lonely Planet’s Experience Guides: Italy at this link – and tune in her question there.
Good luck to everyone who does.
Numbers up … again!!!
And finally, another monthful of new subscribers, reader records and growth for PS News, adding 481 new readers to its ranks around the nation, taking its national audience well into the 176,000 mark and growing.
No 1, not 2 and not 3 but five States and the Commonwealth recorded new high level records of readers as more staff members appreciate the value of a free, informative and improving weekly online newspaper.
As always PS News is open for comment, ideas, suggestions and criticism if you think we can do better.
You can be sure we’re trying our hardest to give you what you want so if there’s something you want that we don’t give you, let us know and we’ll try harder.
In the meantime, enjoy Australia’s No. 1 source of public service news, remembering it’s the NEWS that makes the difference.
If it’s not PS News, it’s not the real PS News thing.
Till next week…..
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