It appears some of the Albanese government's frontbenchers are still struggling with a case of opposition syndrome.
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We can reveal yet another member of Labor's ministry has taken a few snarky jabs at foes in a speech to public servants.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus graced bureaucrats with his presence at the Attorney-General's Department ball in early November.
He gave a rousing speech, one that was apparently fit for question time. Mr Dreyfus is said to have directed his jokes mostly at Coalition predecessor George Brandis, and, in particular, at his notably large book collection.
Officials in Parliament House last Monday for Senate estimates were overheard describing it as a "spicy" speech and squirming at its political nature.
Tsks and hms were littered throughout their recounts.
WEET and chaff for acronyms
The public service is notorious for its use of acronyms. Give it a set of letters - almost any - and hey presto. The bureaucracy will conjure a new word.
There have been some notable entries over the years, although arguably none come close to DSEWPaC (for the former Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities), an acronym with special notoriety from early last decade.
But as inevitable as acronyms feel in Canberra, people can reject them before they take hold. Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher, clearly leading by example, did so last week.
In an estimates hearing replete with mention of WGEA (pronounced "widjee-ah"), for the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Senator Gallagher drew a line against using "WEET" for the Women's Economic Equality Taskforce.
With that acronym safely nipped in the bud, it might be time to raise ambitions. There's a major Australian Public Service reform agenda under way, so what better time than now to do an Audit of Unwieldy Public Service Acronyms?
The government could call it AUPSA.
The FOI force awakens
With former senator Rex Patrick now gone, there is an imbalance in the force at Parliament when it comes to freedom of information requests.
The South Australian maverick was the self-anointed FOI jedi, and loved a duel with bureaucrats.
FOI officials aren't rid of their old foe, yet, as Mr Patrick keeps the cause alive beyond the political grave. Last month he conducted his first ever FOI training course, and announced he had five "Candidate Transparency Jedis", who worked in the office of a non-government senator.
Mr Patrick has a scoring system for his padawans. To reach "Transparency Jedi Knight" or "Transparency Jedi Master" status, a course attendee must achieve 25 or 50 transparency points, respectively. A successful challenge to an adverse FOI decision via an internal review earns two points. A successful review lodged with the information commissioner (five points) or appeals tribunal (10 points) puts the trainees on the fast track.
"The force is getting stronger!" Mr Patrick declared on Twitter.
UAP: A laughing matter?
This column has previously documented the issue of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, namely, the Defence Department's apparent disinterest in pursuing the truth on UAP (the new term for UFOs).
For those not up to speed, there is renewed interest in the topic after a United States government report last year found there was insufficient data to determine the nature of mysterious flying objects observed by fighter pilots.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson raised the issue with Defence personnel in Senate estimates hearings last week, referring to multiple reports from the US about UAP when questioning Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Robert Chipman.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong scoffed at the questioning, covering her mouth with her hands. Senator Whish-Wilson asked: "Do you think it's funny?"
Clearly she was sceptical, although her disdain seemed unfair. If there is one thing we've learnt from years of watching Senate estimates, there is apparently no such thing as a silly question.
Just like there's no such thing as UFOs. Right?
DPS saved its staff from long, boring APS survey, Stefanic says
Most Australians assume Canberra is filled with office worker drones in crisply-ironed shirts and government lanyards, who've never picked up a shovel in their life.
Well, they'd be wrong, if the Department of Parliamentary Services secretary Rob Stefanic has any say in it.
Up on the hill, there's a different kind of worker - one that is apparently so blue collar and mobile that sitting at a desk for two hours is simply not an option.
Mr Stefanic told estimates it's the main reason why the department dumped the APS-wide census that benchmarks workplace culture, and replaced it with a more "truncated" one.
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The APS census was targeted at "white collar" public servants, while a third of the DPS workforce consisted of people in security and trades-related professions who were "mobile", he told senators.
"They have brief periods of time to have breaks. So, sitting in front of a PC for two hours is not palatable," he said.
Never mind that he's previously fought hard to block the public release of earlier census results, expected to contain less-than-favourable report cards of his department.
Shergold's nat cab call-out
That wildly successful innovation to federalism, the national cabinet, has its fair share of detractors. One of their criticisms is that it is too secretive.
Former Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary, Peter Shergold, last week added his voice, saying things should be different in the next pandemic. Speaking at an Institute of Public Administration Australia event, he called for national cabinet to release modelling and data to promote trust in public health decisions in future crises.
This doesn't mean public service advice should all be made public, he said.
"It is entirely appropriate that public servants continue to give confidential advice to the governments they serve on the decisions that are recommended," he said.
Still, secrecy seems to be fast going out of fashion.
Over to you
What's the most ridiculous agency acronym you've seen? Has your minister given your agency an overly "spicy" speech?
Email us at ps@canberratimes.com.au or send your tips and feedback through the form below.