Australian bureaucrats now want a settled life under Julia Gillard

AUSTRALIAN bureaucracy could be one of the best in the world, but bureaucrats in Down Under are not necessarily a happy lot. Many senior bureaucrats now want a more “settled and orderly” existence under new Prime Minister Julia Gillard as life was quite difficult under Kevin Rudd as PM, according to a report by The Canberra Times.

They do agree that they must meet policy demands of an ambitious prime minister, but many of their initiatives under Mr Rudd did not elicit desired results, according to the same report. The only ray of hope has emanated from Ms Gillard’s style of execution, and her attitude of “take decisions and get things done”.

Ex-PM Rudd’s infamous May 2008 diktat that civil servants would all have to put up with working longer hours, was hated by most bureaucrats. “I understand there has been some criticism around the edges that some public servants are finding the hours a bit much,” Mr Rudd said at the time, according to the same report published in The Canberra Times.

Zardari asks Pak bureaucrats not to indulge in Netagiri

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari last week asked the bureaucracy to stay away from politics and use its skills acquired during various training courses to address the problems of the people expeditiously, Daily Times reported. He was addressing the graduation ceremony of the 92nd National Management Course at the Presidency. Mr Zardari asked the officers to stay away from politics, though he felt they should make attempts to understand the dynamics of the country’s politics. The bottom-line is: No Netagiri please!