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!

A section of Australian bureaucrats warned of using social media like Facebook

A SECTION of Australian bureaucrats have been warned against posting photos of friends and colleagues on websites such as Facebook, Canberra Times reported on Tuesday. The advisory was issued by one of Canberra’s largest workplaces, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, as a part of its new social media policy.

In fact, the debate over how to restrain the new-age bureaucrats, reared on Facebook and Twitter, has now been a global issue, as free and frank sharing of information may at times jeopardize the internal mechanism of dissemination of classified information.

In this backdrop, the Australian department’s advice on how to behave while using blogs and online networks such as Facebook and Twitter, is quite significant. The advice also includes how to deal with new virtual worlds such as Second Life.

According to this advisory, bureaucrats are warned against telling others where they work, even when they are using the internet at home for personal purposes, the newspaper reported. In fact, the fear is that what they write “can be used as source material for journalists and other interested parties”.

“Consider carefully whether you should identify yourself as an (Australian Public Service) employee or an employee of the department…Do not risk any liability for the department by providing online recommendations or referrals for friends and or associates.” the policy says.

Any advisory from DoPT soon?
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BoI Extraa…

Taking bribe to sleep with women

Heard of a bureaucrat taking bribes to fund his plans to sleep with women? Yes, a 47-year-old Chinese bureaucrat has been in news recently for taking bribes to fulfill his dream of sleeping with as many as 800 women, according to Chinese newspaper Dahe Daily. But the bureaucrat’s plans backfired as his wife stumbled upon his secrets. The bureaucrat from the city of Anguing, who was finally arrested b y police, began his escapades in 2003, and he maintained the target of sleeping with 56 women a year, said the media reports.