Nearly everyone in nearly every job in nearly every section of the public sector can expect to be called on to write something long or short as part of the job at some stage in their career.
Everyone knows however that only one letter has to be implanted in the wrong place to create an avalanche of embarrassment, humility and fame-for-the-wrong-reason which can often need a full lifetime or two to wear down, so not all are that keen and willing to take on the potentially unpredictable project.
So it was in Queensland this week with a single mischievous rogue letter muscling its way into an otherwise wise announcement by the local Minister for Disability declaring that some people with NDIS-worthy needs could expect greater access to NDIS support.
“We know that the number of NDIS participants in Far North Queensland could be increased and we want to ensure those living with disability have access to the supports and services they need,” the Minister guaranteed wholeheartedly.
But what he hadn’t notice 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.
“People living with disability take valuable and far-reaching contributions to our communities,” was the uncensored commentary that greeted the media.
It was only the top standard level of journalism by PS News’s Ysabel Darling that prompted the Minister’s office to rewrite the written wrong and replace the typographical blunder with the correct ‘make-not-take’ adjustment that led to the story telling the truth.
Well done Yssy!
From the cute to the grave
A fascinating debate this week among the high-press pedants who compose the compositions we read as news reports in PS News, when a story from the ACT public service prompted pretentious pedantry of the most pedagogic kind.
Recording that the innovative teachers at Canberra’s Institute of Technology had developed, devised and were delivering special workshops for their graduates to win good jobs in the big world, the pedants found themselves perplexed, perturbed and puzzled by the challenging coverage of the reportage of one word.
According to CIT, the workshops put on for the graduates covered considerable ground, “including writing a resume and preparing for interviews.”
Such skills would be of great help to the students of course but to the overbearing observers there was something missing from the word ‘resume.’
They all knew it should more correctly be spelt with an acute resumé (i.e. é) or a grave resumè (i.e. è) but no-one seemed to know which one!
While the debate rolled on – Acute or grave? Grave or acute? – a mumble from the most non-journalist corner of the room said it all.
“Most people use CV anyway!” the younger commentator said.
Setting that aside, a delightful book prize awaits the most entertaining readers who can relieve the pedants of their puzzle by answering whether the real ‘resume’ is more correctly written with an acute “é” or a grave “è.”
Answers, comments or criticisms to [email protected].
Cutting corner
Buckle up for a trip to Western Australia now where the Commissioner for Consumer Protection has put out a call to homeowners and others to be on the look-out for travelling tree loppers whose services are less than ideal.
According to the Commissioner, the dodgy loppers have been prosecuted for breaches of the Australian Consumer Law, disregarding cooling-off periods and for undue harassment when connecting payment for services.
“Consumer Protection has successfully prosecuted rogue tree-loppers,” the Commissioner assured her public.
“Beware of rogue operators who may rip you off by taking your money and not completing the job.”
PS-sssst! is proud to find itself in full support of the Commission’s warnings which we suggest come with a level of wisdom and eponymous superiority other regulators can only wish for.
Who better, we suggest, to cut the dodgy tree loppers down to size than the skilled WA Consumer Protection Commissioner whose name happens to be Lanie Chopping!
The book of news
To Rama Gaind’s weekly goody giveaway again now with two free book prizes on offer to two lucky readers.
The payoffs for playing this week are copies of the tell-all news book Kid Reporter: The secret to breaking the news by Saffron Howden and Dhana Quinn.
To join Rama’s Army of winners and become a proud owner of one of the books, all we had to do was answer her quiz question which was to repeat the book’s ‘famous quote about journalism’.
The answer was “Journalism is the first rough draft of history,” attributed to co-owner of The Washington Post, Philip L. Graham and the first correct entries to leave the PS News Barrel of Booty belonged to Katherine N from the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, and John V also from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
Congratulations to Katherine and John and a good word to their Department for engaging such clever staff members. And a big thanks to everyone all who took part in the giveaway.
The prizes will be on their way to their new owners very soon.
For another chance to join John in this week’s giveaway game simply sign on for Rama’s Book Pushing Back available at this PS News link and her other Book The Healthy Skin Kitchen at this link.
It’s free, it’s fun and you have to be in it to win it!
Good luck to all who do…..
PS of the PAST
Another trip to into PS history now with the main stories leading the gossip in public sector workplaces in the last week of March 2011 and first week of April in the same year.
Unleasing the PS Past: 29 March to 4 April 2011
1. Twenty-eight civilians serving the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and AusAID were honoured this week 10 years ago for their service in war-torn Afghanistan.
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kevin Rudd presented 28 staff with plaques to thank them for their work in tough and often dangerous conditions.
“There are few places in the world that offer Australian Government personnel an assignment as important, demanding or rewarding as service in Afghanistan,” Mr Rudd said.
2. NSW State Records launched a new website this week aimed at increasing public accessibility to the State Archives collection.
State Records said the project could lead to new ways of collecting information and create new possibilities for searching the archives.
The information published on the new website contained background data on its content, which would help search engines find information faster and more easily and therefore allow better accessibility.
3. Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh unveiled Operation Queenslander this week, a policy for recovery and reconstruction after natural disasters had brought serious damages to the State.
Based on a report by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, the policy was to guide the reconstruction and enhancement of all flood and cyclone affected communities, including rebuilding billions of dollars worth of buildings and infrastructure.
“We know that during the next two years we must rebuild lives as well as buildings,” Ms Bligh said.
4. Also in Queensland, a new national park was declared over 20 per cent of North Stradbroke Island.
The Premier, Anna Bligh said 5,240ha had been given the highest possible conservation protection and was named Naree Budjong Djara, meaning “My Mother Earth” to be jointly managed by traditional owners.
Ms Bligh said she wanted to see North Stradbroke transformed from a mining island to an island paradise.
5. The South Australian environment was also benefiting this week in 2011, with 900,000ha of the Nullarbor Plain declared a Wilderness Protection Area, effectively doubling the amount of land enjoying the highest level of protection in the State.
Premier, Mike Rann said the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area would stretch almost 200 km from the West Australian border along the Great Australian Bight and would “help conserve our famous treeless plain, the towering Bunda Cliffs and the Nullarbor’s internationally renowned arid environment”.
6. Public schoolteachers in Western Australia were winning high praise from the Minister for Education, Liz Constable for ensuring students at Bayulu Remote Community School continued their schooling during that year’s recent Kimberley floods.
When Bayulu was cut off by flood waters, teachers took extraordinary measures to keep the school running, including sleeping on swags in classrooms, after which school Principal Ken Molyneux said mosquitoes, a lack of hot water and brown snakes were some of the challenges the teachers faced.
Until next week…..
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