Wonderful news from Government House in Canberra last week that Her Majesty the Queen had graciously recognised the dedication and commitment of 40 talented Public Service achievers by awarding them the high honour of the Public Service Medal (PSM).
While congratulations are richly deserved by every recipient, what makes my job at PS News so rewarding is the honour I get (without the medal of course!) of reporting the PSM awardees as it allows me the joy of reflecting on the role I played in the lead-up to the PSM’s birth in 1989.
Patient followers of PS-sssst! may recall that my Public Service job in a past life had to do with engendering national pride in our populace who, in the 1980s, were mostly of the view that Australia was a little nation in a big continent that could occasionally win a game of cricket but that was about all.
Facing a population looking the other way, the part-time committee it was my honour to be secretary of, took the view that the only chance of catching their attention was to make a noise so we set about doing just that. Over time the committee addressed our national symbols head-on by rewriting our out-of-date national anthem; repainting our national colours to green and gold; reclaiming the Australian of the Year Awards from private industry; and tying the Australia Day holiday to a fixed day of the year.
High on the list of accomplices in our activities were other Public Service entities we called on to join in by doing something to improve national pride in their line of influence, with most agreeing at the very least to hand out Australia Day Awards to their own staff as one a way of taking part.
To its credit, Government House joined in the project, adopting the creative view that introducing a special medal for the Public Service would be a contribution it could make to the cause. The rest is history.
Nowadays, as a firmly-established and highly respected decoration for dedication and commitment, the PSM has proven itself – to at least one former PS staffer – a wonderful way to acknowledge workers whose selfless service does so much to give our nation pride.
Congratulations once again to everyone found deserving of a Public Service Medal.
Weeding out criminals
To Western Australia now where a tag-team approach to cracking down on drug trafficking has been put in place with the Australian Border Force, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, Australian Federal Police, the Australian Transactions and Reporting Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) and Western Australia Police all joining forces to smoke out the drug dealers.
According to a Deputy Police Commissioner in WA, the team approach was guided by a new strategy for identifying criminal organisations believed to be causing the most harm to the State.
The Deputy Commissioner revealed that the strategy had been named as the ‘Western Australian Regional Priority Organisation Target’ and had already run up some impressive scores on the board.
According to PS-sssst! that should be no surprise.
With a strategy revelling in the acronym WARPOT, the druggies haven’t a chance!
Killer thriller
To Rama Gaind’s record-breaking giveaway this week in which a world record-breaking number of Gaind’s Giveaways are to be given away right before our eyes in Rama’s this to break the record.
To record an entry in Rama’s adventurous record-breaking giveaway all we had to do was read her review of the thrilling DVD movie The Clovehitch Killer starring Dylan McDermott, Charlie Plummer and Samantha Mathis.
To join Rama’s conga line of winners this week just work out the name of the town (even though Rama tells us) where the Burnside family lived and then be one of the first eight – that’s right, eight! – correct entries out of the PS News Barrel of Booty so a free DVD of the movie will be yours.
The correct answer was Clarksville, Kentucky and the first sharp, smart and successful eight entrants who knew that were Brett M of the Australian Border Force in WA; Edward B of the South Australian Department of Human Services; Kimella B of the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet; Andy R of the NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics; Julie C of Victoria Police; Ross R of the Federal Department of Health; Fiona H of the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs; and Karen L of the Federal Department of Human Services.
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who took part to help Rama break her giveaway record.
For another chance to chance your hand and take a chance at winning next week, simply follow this link to Rama’s giveaway for this week and give it your best shot.
Good luck to all who do.
Big giveaway on the way
And staying with the remarkable Rama, for those of us who get a buzz from Rama breaking records, ruminations are around that the Redoubtable Rama is has more record breakers up her sleeve, this time with independent winners in every State and Territory!
Watch this space!!!!
Going social
And finally, a reminder to all the twits and facebookers among PS News’s socially aware readership that active and attractive Facebook and Twitter accounts have been set up by PS News to help keep us up with the new-age decision makers and social influencers that seem to rule society in the 21st century.
Managed by the socially aware Sarah and updated almost every day, a carefully selected selection of PS News news and information can be yours free and unfaked anytime and anywhere at the poke of a finger.
To visit us on Facebook, just follow this PS News link and if you’d prefer a Twitter, go here.
Another way of serving the Service!
Until next week…..
