Whoever gave the United States lexicographer Noah Webster the idea that the word licence should have an ‘S’ in it, should have had their licence suspended,
Instead of simplifying our licences to write the word licences, the unlicenced special of ‘license’ seems to cause more trouble than one likes (or lises?).
Point in action: the Victorian Public Services’ celebration of the 20th anniversary of its Fishing Licence Trust!
Celebrated last month, the Trust’s activities have done wonders for the State’s fishing aficionados and for the sport in general with the Premier’s Office identifying a range of “Landmark projects funded by fishing licence fees over the 20 years (that) include … buying back commercial licences in inland waters and Gippsland estuaries”.
But unfortunately the licence curse was never far away.
The Office did its identifying after noting just one line away that: “Fishing license fees raise $8.5 million annually.”
It all looks like nonsence to PS-sssst!
Worldly words
A word of international wisdom now from PS News’s World News editor Graham Cooke whose weekly rundowns of PS news from every corner of the world are hotly supported by PS News readers in their hundreds.
Noting as most of us are that the stress and strain of the COVID pandemic is making life a misery for many people around Australia and around the world, Graham is in the perfect position to compare Australia’s experience with the rest of the planet and has done so.
“Not bad stories in PS News this week” he declared seriously.
“But they’re tame beside some of the ones we are getting in the International File.”
So, to experience a world tougher than tame, Graham’s collection of PS World News is the place to visit at this link.
This week’s world-standard stories come from Singapore, the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and more.
Pedantry on the boil
A special mention now to eagle-eye Wendy L of a Department of Agriculture, Water and Energy who, for some inspired reason, chose to aim a detonator-full of prime gunpowder at PS-sssst’s superbrains for having the nerve last week to point their blank weapons at Queensland’s Brad M.
Mr M had delivered a decapitation of the PS-ssssters, pointing out that one of their typographical tirades was itself typographically tottery since its coverage included a typographical transgression.
For Wendy L, the optically observant Brad didn’t observe far enough!
“Glad Brad M picked up an error in the 5th paragraph of the NDIS article a few weeks ago, but if we’re going to get PS-pedantic, there are two other errors in this particular paragraph,” the wily Wendy went on with.
Forwarding her found faults of failure, prosecutor Wendy revisited the impaired phrase thus: “What he hadn’t notice[d] was the single character from hell that had entered one word of an earlier comment he had made, diverting the [his] necessary funds away from his deserving DNIS clients and pocketing the moneys themselves.”
“Notice should be ‘noticed’ and ‘his’ is unnecessary,” the wise Wendy pontificated to the PS-ssssters, driving home her hard-hearted humiliation.
“Trouble comes in threes, let’s hope no one picks up any more problems!”
Heartily humiliated as we are, we congratulate Wendy on her wit and wisdom and will be sending a popular PS-ssssst Privilege Pack her way as a token of our impression.
If you have a comment on any PS topic whatever, share it with your 169,000 fellow readers of PS News by sending it (anonymous if need be) to [email protected]
You too could be called ‘optically observant’, ‘prosecutor’, with a ‘wit and wisdom’ and other personal sobriquets at no cost.
Leading to win
To Rama Gaind’s weekly PS News giveaway now in which lucky readers have the chance to win copies of the inspiring guide to leadership ‘Leader By Design‘ by big business manager and sporting household name, Colleen Callander.
To stake out our place in Rama’s long line of winners all we had to do was name the clothing chain Colleen Callander led as Chief Executive, the answer to which was Sportsgirl.
The two lucky readers whose correct entries were the first out of the PS News Barrel of Booty were Donata L from Victoria’s Department of Justice and Community Safety and Sara N from Tasmania’s Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment.
Congratulations to Donata and Sara and thanks to everyone who took part in Rama’s little bit of fun. The winners’ fabulous book prizes will be on their way to their new homes very soon.
For another chance to join Rama’s Army of Winners simply flick over to one or both of her sharp, smart and sophisticated reviews of either this DVD Fear of Rain at this PS News link – and answer her quiz question – or her other reviewed Book Flawsome at this link – and answer her question there.
Good luck to all who do,
Mothers’ day the books way
Staying with the wise wisdom of Rama our Giveaway Queen now who wants it known she has brought in three special books to her PS News’ reviews this week to mark the significance and serious symbolism of the national event society shines its spotlight shine on around this time each year.
“I’ve deliberately reviewed three titles this week by women authors with Mother’s Day (next Sunday) in mind,” our literary alert and creatively clinquant Rama explained.
“Some powerful messages not only about motherhood, but womanhood as well!” she promised.
So to share in Rama’s Mothers’ Day merrymaking, simply click on this PS News link and pick up the powerful message she promises.
PS from the PaSt … !
Back in time again now with all the news in the public sector 10 years ago this week dredged up for our entertainment and possible wisdom not to go back there again.
This week we revisit Australia’s various public sectors in the week starting 3 May 2011 and reaching 9 May.
Unleashing the PS Past: 3 May – 9 May 2011
1. This week 10 years ago, the CSIRO was celebrating after taking out the award for best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue at the 6th annual Safe Work Australia Awards.
CSIRO Livestock Industries won for developing an electronically controlled Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) Filling Station to provide a monitored, well-controlled environment for handling LN2, which is an asphyxiant that presents a significant risk to staff using and dispensing it.
Chairman of Safe Work Australia, Tom Phillips said the awards recognised the “important work that organisations and individuals were doing to make work health and safety a top priority and ensure everyone returns home safely from work each day”.
2. In Queensland, a technical report on structural damage to buildings hit by Cyclone Yasi was expected to inform future design and construction standards.
Chairman of the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), which funded the report, Graham Huxley said James Cook University’s Cyclone Testing Station marshalled Australia’s leading cyclone researchers and building professionals to compile data for the report.
He said it made several recommendations for industry, governments and the community relating to the performance of building products, Australian Standards and the cyclone construction requirements of the National Construction Code.
3. Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten announced new rules for financial advisers to better protect consumers signing up for financial advice.
Mr Shorten said the Future of Financial Advice reforms were designed to provide further protections for consumers and to restore trust in the system following the collapse of Storm, Trio, Westpoint and other financial service providers.
He said many consumers lacked trust in the profession and there was a perception that advice was under-regulated and open to abuse.
4. Victorian Treasurer, Kim Wells announced this week 10 years ago that a new Independent Broad-based Anticorruption Commission (IBAC) would be set up to investigate, expose and prevent corruption across the public sector.
He said IBAC would take over the functions of the Office of Police Integrity and would have jurisdiction over all members of the Government, including the judiciary, Local Government, Members of Parliament and their staff, Police and the Public Service.
“Any citizen will be able to make a complaint to the IBAC about corruption,” Mr Wells said.
5. Staying in Victoria, the Minister for Water, Peter Walsh announced $19.3 million in funding to repair flood warning networks damaged in the State’s January floods, undertake more riverine flood mapping and develop a system to improve flood information and warnings.
Mr Walsh said this would boost the State’s capacity to cope with floods and improve response and recovery.
“It will give emergency services a more accurate prediction of flood behaviour and help individual landholders assess their own flood risk,” he said.
6. And in response to another natural disaster, the Victorian Government announced it would spend $5 million on the first stage of its Retreat and Resettlement policy of non-compulsory land acquisitions, as parts of its commitment to accept all the recommendations of the Bushfires Royal Commission.
Minister for Bushfire Response, Peter Ryan said the scheme would give eligible bushfire survivors who were unable or unwilling to rebuild the chance to move on and buy elsewhere.
He said the Government had also provided $50 million to fund safer electricity assets in line with the recommendations of the Royal Commission.
Until next week……
Something to share?
Send to [email protected]
(And, yes, it can be anonymous!)
