It’s only taken 40,000 years but this year would appear to be the year of the woman, finally achieving recognition that equality isn’t a four-letter word.
High in the queue for recognition was the national Department of Health which unveiled a National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 setting out a collection of activities aimed at “improving long term health outcomes for women and girls”.
And while every one of the many features of the Strategy is worthwhile and worthy, two managed to catch PS-sssst’s feminine side, albeit looking past the capable and creditable content and honing in on the creative.
High on PS-sssst’s observation is the Strategy’s support for a new mother’s helpline conveyed by Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia which is cleverly acronymed as PANDA.
While we all hope PANDA will achieve its goals, those of us with extreeeeeemly long memories will remember Panda as the nation’s first ever TV Barrel Girl on GTV-9 in the 1950s and 60s. Is that a step forward or a step backward?
Also high among the many attractions in the Strategy is the Pelvic Pain Foundation of Australia’s service for teenagers delivered at schools as its Periods, Pain and Endometriosis Program.
This program was cleverly acronymed as ‘PPEP-talk.’ Very clever!
Tax attack
To the Australian Taxation Office now which has launched a creative ‘Career Kickstart’ program in an attempt to attract high school graduates in rural areas to apply for jobs with the ATO.
Looking to hire staff in regional centres of Queensland, News South Wales and Victoria, the ATO is offering a range of benefits the candidates might expect if they get a job, including “gaining valuable work experience, building professional capabilities and learning work practices”
The Office also promises potential employees another attractive benefit which those of us with jobs might consider is painting the picture a little too brightly.
“At the same time they could be earning a good income….” the ATO promised.
It must have slipped its mind that a slab of that ‘good income’ will end up going back to the Tax Office where it came from!
Something the new employees can look forward to?
Teed off!
To the polemic wit of Victoria’s Department of Families, Fairness and Housing’s brilliant Philomena S now where the gift of glib is never far from the surface.
“Some interesting facts I didn’t know,” shared the otherwise omniscient Philomena with PS-sssst! last week, “I didn’t know that GOLF was an acronym for Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden”.
Thanks Philomena. Can we assume from that you’re a true Birdie?
To flaw with love
To Rama Gaind’s ever-popular giveaway again now in which we will see two lucky PS News readers become the proud new owners of Georgia Murch’s life-changing self-improvement book Flawsome.
To take the prize, all we needed to do was tell Rama what Ms Murch told us to do to be flawsome, and then have our entry emerge from the PS News Barrel of Booty either first or second.
And the lucky winners who pulled off that requirement were Tania M from the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, and Sandra G from Services Australia.
Congratulations Tania and Sandra, your new book will be on its way soon, and thanks to everyone who took part in Rama’s giveaway game.
For the record, the correct answer to Rama’s poser was that Georgia Murch, teaches us that being flawsome is not just about accepting our flaws, our inadequacies and the things we hide, it’s also about understanding where they come from and rewriting how we see our self, so we can live as we are. It’s not just about making peace with our shortcomings and imperfections, but knowing that without them we are not us. Our flaws make us who we are.
To take part in Rama’s giveaway this week all we need to do is open up her 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 Shanghai Acrobat at this link – and answer her question there.
Good luck to everyone who does!
Back to the PS of the PaSt again!
Another visit to the Public Service of 2011 now as PS News rummages through its archives to find out what was happening 10 years ago to this week.
So read, revisit and remember the days of old.
Restoring the PS Past: 10 – 16 May 2011
1. This week 10 years ago, the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Terry Moran said a new wave of reform was needed to take public service delivery to its next level.
In a speech at the University of Sydney, he said those who argued that reform had run out of puff did not appreciate the broader scope of the new reform agenda.
“The overriding goal of the Australian Public Service today is to extend and broaden that new reform agenda,” Mr Moran said. He said a key factor behind the success of reforms over recent decades had been bold advice to Government from a strong Public Service.
“The success of these systems shows that Australian public services have what it takes to give citizens what they want,” he said.
2. Also this week, the rights of Victoria’s volunteer firefighters were enshrined in legislation.
The Country Fire Authority (Volunteer Charter) Bill recognised that the CFA is first and foremost a volunteer-based organisation, in which volunteers are supported by paid staff in a fully integrated manner.
The legislation made it a requirement that the CFA recognise, value, respect and promote the contribution of volunteers to the wellbeing and safety of the community.
The CFA is one of the largest volunteer organisations in the world, with 59,000 volunteers.
3. In Queensland, Premier and Minister for Reconstruction, Anna Bligh announced the building of 10 new cyclone shelters and multipurpose facilities in the north of the State. She said her government would match the gift of $30 million from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi towards building five more Category Five–rated multipurpose cyclone shelters.
Ms Bligh said each shelter would provide protection for more than 500 people escaping winds of up to 300km/h, windborne debris and storm-tide inundation.
She said the initiative meant North Queensland would be more resilient and safer than ever.
4. South Australia’s Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) this week urged residents to prepare for an earthquake.
DTEI Earthquake Hazard Leader, Judith Carr said while the risk of earthquakes in South Australia was considerably lower than in other parts of the world, seismic activity was by no means rare.
She said while earthquakes could not be predicted, there was a basic personal safety message to follow should one occur.
“When shaking starts, the best advice is to drop, cover and hold — that is, drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture, and hold on to the leg of the furniture,” Ms Carr said. People should also have an emergency kit on hand that included a battery-powered torch and radio and spare batteries.
5. Staying in South Australia, Premier, Mike Rann and the Federal Ministers for Defence and Resources and Energy unveiled a new management framework for the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA).
Defence would remain the primary user of the WPA, which would be divided into Green, Amber and Red zones, each offering different levels of access on a timeshare basis to non-Defence users.
Mr Rann said the WPA remained an essential Defence asset, as its remoteness and size made it a unique location for large-scale and long-range weapons testing. The new arrangements, however, would allow greater access to the resources and energy sectors.
6. And finally, this week 10 years ago, WA’s Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) helped provide a happy ending for a dolphin trapped in shallows near Leeman.
The juvenile bottlenose dolphin was reported washed up on the beach in a remote area and, despite the efforts of members of the public, it could not be encouraged to swim into deeper water.
In consultation with DEC’s Nature Protection Branch and under the supervision of a local veterinarian, DEC staff carefully collected the dolphin, assessed its condition and then released it near a sanctuary zone in Jurien Bay Marine Park.
DEC Marine Park Coordinator, Matthew Dasey said without the intervention, the dolphin almost certainly would have died within hours.
Till next week…..
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