Fascinating story in the Australian Public Service edition of PS News this week with the federal Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) unveiling the unique history and symbolism of Australia’s flag and its 120+ years of seriously reverent respect.
While the PM&C story unveiled the interesting history of the ‘Centenary Flag’ adopted for the year 2001, the power of the 121-year-old original remains unique, raising the patriotic heart of every true Australian whenever there’s a nationalist need to show our tribute as a nation.
In its 121 years of representing us – at least since 1954 when it was formally adopted – our Australian flag has been there weeping when Australians perished under it at war; cheering when we won at the Olympics; and in the queue for a feed as we share our purity of patriotism at picnics and parties as proof we are perfectly equal amongst our national family, a family-ship which no-one on this planet can take away.
Why therefore, PS-sssst! wonders, do we allow our cherished national flag to be so degraded, defaced and dishonoured as it is above.
And why do we continue to have someone else’s flag in our top left corner?
Maybe it’s time we got a new one!
Acronymically speaking
And while we have the PM&C in our sights, congratulations are in order for its cleverness and creativity acronyming the need for government policies to match community behaviours by abbreviating its ‘Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government’ as BETA, albeit short of an apparent silent ‘G’.
And while PM&C accepts its standing ovation for canniness, its Commonwealth sibling the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner steps up to the plate and plays an equally cool and clever acronym to illustrate its network of Information Contact Officers.
In an early-bird announcement that the United Nations is to hold its 2021 International Access to Information Day on 28 September, the OAIC matches PM&C with an assurance that details of the day are to be distributed before the day.
And who would be doing the distributing?
The Commission’s ‘Information Contact Officers Network’ of course, ‘ICON’ for short.
BETA and ICON in one day?
Sometimes it’s just a pleasure to come to work!
List we forget!
Time to spare a thoughtful moment or two for the members of the NSW Public Service now who are facing tough times but who it would seem, may not be receiving the recognition they deserve from their own Government.
Readers of PS News might be aware that the independent newspaper that is PS News is not published by governments or public services but is compiled and distributed by a small private business based in Canberra which has 15 staff members and/or contributors sprinkled around the nation.
So when the NSW Government generously offered to assist small businesses in its State to survive the COVID curse, PS News put its hand up as two of its employees live in NSW as well as two of its specialist contributors.
Sadly, it was rejected as it couldn’t produce the NSW-stamped utility bills, insurance papers, supply invoices, registration papers or contractor licences needed to prove it was operating in the State as those needs were already attended to in Canberra.
PS News accepted the shortcoming but like all good businesspersons gave it one more try, offering to produce one giant document that would prove without doubt that it was extremely active in NSW – the 22,000-plus list of NSW Public Service members who receive PS News online each week.
Needless to say the offer was declined (which is a good thing since our lists are secret), but we did get to fill some space in the PS-sssst! column, so not all was lost!
Take care of your book
To Rama Gaind’s ever exciting weekly giveaway now in which yet more lucky PS News readers have the chance to win valuable prizes just be reading Rama’s Reviews and then joining the fun of her giveaway.
This week the prize is the informative and revealing book Taking Care of Yourself by Daisy Dowling.
To be a winner all we needed was to identify the expert advice Ms Dowling delivers in the book and then be among the first three entries to emerge from the PS News Barrel of Booty.
The answer was the book provides expert advice to help us identify “what we value most out of our work and home life, make choices that align with those values and manage the emotions that come with them”.
And the winning entrants were Katie R from a private web-hosting company, Bianca M from Services Australia and Donata L from the Victorian Department of Justice and Community Safety.
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone for taking part. The prize books will be on their way shortly.
For another chance to win another giveaway and join up to Rama’s Army of Winning Weaders, simply follow her giveaway question to win the DVD Kill Chain at this PS News link and/or her other giveaway question to win this Book Impact at this link.
Good luck!!
Rama rearranged!
While we’re in the company of the redoubtable Rama Gaind, our globetrotting Ms Gaind has announced she has set off on a new slant in her popular travel masterpieces.
“I’m going to take a different slant in my travel column – as an occasional piece,” her Ramaness promised.
“I’m going to write about something a little out of the norm,” she said.
“It might be good to just look at various ways we ‘talk’ when using one simple word – TRAVEL. The combination is quite amazing and it could set the tone for some conversations!”
Now there’s something to look forward to!
Old number crunched
And finally, for the number crunchers amongst us, it’s all easy today.
100% of all PS News editions broke their subscription records last month with the combined readership skipping past a very impressive 172,000.
For the record – and so we can all pat ourselves on the back – APS has passed 60,000 for the first time this year; Victoria and NSW each passed 22,000; WA passed 17,000; Queensland passed 14,500; ACT passed 13,800; Tasmania passed 11,500; SA passed 9,800; and NT 1,400.
Well done to everyone.
‘Til next week…..
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