Is there a place any more lonely than to be the public servant sent out to face the media when there has been a stuff-up? Australian Taxation Office second commissioner Jeremy Hirschorn is the latest to have an answer.
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Last month he became the face of the $60 billion JobKeeper bungle when he fronted the cameras to explain how a "reporting error" led to a virtual halving of the government's signature policy to fight the crippling economic effects of the COVID-19-related business shutdowns.
There was not an Australian flag or politician in sight. Plenty have experienced deep loneliness during the pandemic and for those few hours, at least, another was added to their number. Ministers have a long and inglorious history of very publicly celebrating successes and vanishing when things go bad.
It was only a few weeks ago that the Australian portrayed Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg as the principal architects of the scheme. In the story, Mr Frydenberg was quoted as saying: "No doubt many people will crawl out of the woodwork to claim credit for the government's JobKeeper payment. The truth is the policy was developed by the Prime Minister, myself and the Finance Minister, with the strong support of the Treasury secretary and other agencies."
At the time the wage subsidy scheme was hailed as a bold measure that would provide a welcome lifeline for millions of workers facing unemployment as businesses across the country shut up shop.
Over the ensuing weeks as employment tumbled, the policy, for all its flaws, was seen as an important backstop for an estimated six million workers.
Fast forward to the night of Thursday May 21, when the colour must have drained from the Treasurer's face as he was informed of a massive revision to the scheme.
Instead of giving a leg up to six million or more, the actual number was half that.
To his credit, the following night Mr Frydenberg followed up on Mr Hirschorn's appearance and fronted up for a television interview on ABC to explain what had happened. He defended Treasury and the ATO, though he refused the invitation to accept responsibility.
That finally came on the Monday morning when, amid a blizzard of media spots, he appeared on the Today show and said, "I take responsibility for this, and I'm accountable through the Parliament".
These are not the words that fell from the lips of Bridget McKenzie during the sports grants saga, or Angus Taylor during the furore caused by his accusations, based on a false document, against Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore.
So often, the damage done to a reputation is not having made a mistake, but trying to cover it up or duck responsibility.
If one of COVID-19's legacies is to re-inject some meaning into the term "ministerial responsibility" that would help make up for some of the pain we have all suffered through this period.
But at the moment that seems about as likely as a mid-winter break in Europe.
- Adrian Rollins is a public service reporter at The Canberra Times.