Dear old PS-sssst! is in an old-age mood this week, delivering her majesty’s birthday honours lists where dozens of highly talented Public Service achievers are recognised and honoured for what the Governor-General calls ‘meritorious, distinguished and conspicuous service’.
Indeed it was a Governor-General of the 1980’s who took the bold step of adding the Public Service Medal (PSM) to the honours list, having seen what a wide number of federal departments and agencies had done awarding medals to their staff achievers for Australia Day at the suggestion of the National Australia Day Committee in 1980.
As Secretary to that committee, dear old PS-sssst! is so impressed and thrilled at the impression the PSMs – and in many PS entities, the Australia Day medals – have rendered, and continue to achieve, in Public Services around the nation which do so much without receiving anything like the recognition or appreciation they deserve.
So congratulations to all who have been recognised for their service in the Public Service, may there be many more as the years roll on.
Changing places
A special mention now of Veronica B of the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment for being the first reader to pick in the flaw in PS-sssst!’s attempted comment on the potentially gender inequality of the new national Government’s appointment of a woman as Minister for Home Affairs while a male was chosen as Minister for Defence.
In its (lack of) wisdom PS-sssst! wondered if the day would ever arrive when a woman is chosen for Defence and a male for Home Affairs.
Veronica wrote politely: “I recall that Linda Reynolds was Minister for Defence from 29 May 2019 to 30 March 2021 and Peter Dutton was Minister for Home Affairs from 20 December 2017 to 30 March 2021.”
“So that day has been and gone,” she pointed out.
Mea Culpa, Veronica. You win, we’re wrong.
And just to prove it we will send you a Perfectly Popular PS-sssst ! Pack of Paraphernalia as our way of saying thanks.
Thanks
Poetry on fire!
To New South Wales now where the Fire and Rescue NSW and the NSW Rural Fire Service have joined hoses to mark June as Fire Awareness Month encouraging the community to be “safe, not sorry this winter and guard against house fires.”
“Every winter we see a spike in house fires,” the NSW Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience complained.
“Around 20 people lose their lives in house fires every year,” she lamented.
The Minister’s solution?
“I am encouraging households across NSW to take simple precautions,” she encouraged.
And among the precautions the Minister ticked off were: Making sure smoke alarms are working; Not leaving cooking unattended; and Not using outdoor heating equipment inside.”
All very worthy precautions and all very likely to save lives but the precaution that stands out from the rest isn’t only practical, it’s poetical, and as such could be remembered long after the rest have been revised.
And that precaution?
“Keep objects a metre from the heater!”
Will do! … and we won’t forget it!
Fires for cooking!
And while on the highly appropriate topic of State fire-fighting, readers with strong memories may remember that last week PS-sssst! identified the Chief Officer of the Victorian Country Fire Authority as Garry Cook, declaring him to be what the frivolous writing world calls an ’aptonym’ inasmuch as a person’s name reflects the task they have as a career. Cook=fire, get it?
For the record, the NSW Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience is equally aptonymic as Victoria’s, inasmuch as the Minister’s name is Steph Cooke!
Italy awaits
To Rama Gaind’s weekly giveaway now in which this week one lucky reader will become the proud owner of a free copy of the Lonely Planet’s Experience Guide of Italy.
To be the winner all we had to do was share with Rama our favourite city in Italy and be the first entrant to emerge from the PS News Barrel of Booty to tell PS-sssst!’s travelling judge.
And the winner who did all that is Jodie W of the Australian Taxation Office who told us how much she would love to visit Italy’s ‘Castel Volturno’.
Congratulations Jodie and thanks to everyone who helped us invade Italy in the past week. Jodie’s new Lonely Planet Guide will be on its way to her very soon.
If you’d like another chance to join Rama’s Army of winners, all you need to do is play her giveaway game and send in your answer to one or both of her reviews of the Book Work. Mama. Life. at this PS News link and/or her also-reviewing masterpiece of the Book Heartfelt Leadership Just waiting to be read at this link.
The very best wishes to all who join Rama’s Riddle of Riches and give her reviews a reading to take the chance!
Till next week…..
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