Comments on: Asking the right questions on Utegate http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/15/tips-and-rumours-54/ now with extra source Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:13:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: David1 http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/15/tips-and-rumours-54/#comment-31286 David1 Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:44:11 +0000 http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/15/tips-and-rumours-54/#comment-31286 Thanks Adrian, the point I was going to make as well. Its very easy for the column author to throw nudge nudge wink wink porkies in the style of several News Ltd employees but to write crap due to ignorance or just being bloody minded belongs in the pages of the Australian, Tele and Herald, not here. Dragging Crikey down to their level is dumb. Thanks Adrian, the point I was going to make as well. Its very easy for the column author to throw nudge nudge wink wink porkies in the style of several News Ltd employees but to write crap due to ignorance or just being bloody minded belongs in the pages of the Australian, Tele and Herald, not here. Dragging Crikey down to their level is dumb.

]]> By: Martin Musgrave http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/15/tips-and-rumours-54/#comment-31267 Martin Musgrave Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:02:27 +0000 http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/15/tips-and-rumours-54/#comment-31267 I think it's really unfair to rail at public servants' in-kind pay. Most public servants get paid a fraction of what they would in the open market, especially those at financial and insurance corporations like VMIA, TAC and WorkCover and the top boffins inside Treasuries and First Ministers' Departments. Most of the public servants I have worked with are paid at what is really a bargain to the taxpayer (although there are exceptions that prove the rule). If pay was benchmarked against each department's industry standard, taxpayers would feel more of a pinch than the odd massage or "thank you for a job well done" event. There's not a hue and cry when shareholders' are slugged for company parties, cocktail parties, and the like. It should also be noted that public servants no longer have the benefits that used to compensate for lower pay, such as defined benefits superannuation, job security, promotion on seniority, etc. And there are no bonuses. Public servants are by no means the fat cats of legend. I think it’s really unfair to rail at public servants’ in-kind pay. Most public servants get paid a fraction of what they would in the open market, especially those at financial and insurance corporations like VMIA, TAC and WorkCover and the top boffins inside Treasuries and First Ministers’ Departments. Most of the public servants I have worked with are paid at what is really a bargain to the taxpayer (although there are exceptions that prove the rule). If pay was benchmarked against each department’s industry standard, taxpayers would feel more of a pinch than the odd massage or “thank you for a job well done” event. There’s not a hue and cry when shareholders’ are slugged for company parties, cocktail parties, and the like. It should also be noted that public servants no longer have the benefits that used to compensate for lower pay, such as defined benefits superannuation, job security, promotion on seniority, etc. And there are no bonuses. Public servants are by no means the fat cats of legend.

]]> By: Adrian Ryan http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/15/tips-and-rumours-54/#comment-31238 Adrian Ryan Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:36:37 +0000 http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/07/15/tips-and-rumours-54/#comment-31238 Searching an email data base for "Grant"will, as any regular computer user knows, bring up every every document containing the word or even where it is part of a word in some circumstances. In any case "grant"can be a noun or a verb which no doubt is widely used in government communications. So why the innuendo? At least your correspondent is right in one respect. If you want to get a useful answer out of any data base you must ask the right question. Any user of Google would know this. Adrian Ryan Searching an email data base for “Grant”will, as any regular computer user knows, bring up every every document containing the word or even where it is part of a word in some circumstances. In any case “grant”can be a noun or a verb which no doubt is widely used in government communications. So why the innuendo? At least your correspondent is right in one respect. If you want to get a useful answer out of any data base you must ask the right question. Any user of Google would know this.

Adrian Ryan

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