Tuesday, July 17, 2018

What if we have to work until we’re 100?


What if we have to work until we’re 100? BBC 



Do Australians think the tax office is fair?

For the ATO, it's the million-dollar question. Or make that, $973,530 (excluding GST).

That's how much the ATO paid international market research firm Kantar Millward Brown over four years to quiz Australian individuals and businesses about their interactions with the taxman.

The latest survey results, obtained by the ABC under freedom of information laws, revealed 44 per cent of taxpayers surveyed did not agree that the agency was fair or professional in handling tax disputes.

Less than half said they were kept well-informed about the process of their dispute, while 45 per cent did not agree the time taken to resolve their dispute was reasonable.

The Four Corner's report triggered an investigation by the Inspector-General of Taxation, Ali Noroozi.

His investigation's final report, which has also been released under freedom of information laws, called on the ATO to improve its handling of disputes with small businesses.



The ATO declined a request for an interview, but in a statement said it commissioned the rolling survey to help develop "fairness metrics across the organisation".

ATO spends $1 million on fairness survey, learns lots of us think the ...



 

Opening statement to Senate Aged Care Inquiry

 

AFP launches foreign agent hunt to crack down on espionage | Daily Terror ...

 

GOING OFFLINE AND WORKING IN THE MINISTER'S OFFICE for 100 Years:


Senile CEO says

@senileceosays

CEO of the leading enterprise in communicating practicing ideas in the acchiture (sic) of modern business

I am Comfortably Numb to the fact my staff are working hard on Fridays while I’m at lunch


Corner Office, New York



https://mobile.twitter.com/senileceosays/status/68966950520373249

The secondment to the minister's office is a coveted career move for many public servants. But what about the politics? Victoria Draudins spoke with staffers and researchers to find out how different types of experts fare.
Who are the staffers shaping our political landscape?
The ministerial office is one of the last largely inscrutable parts of our democracy. Where do these staffers come from, and what makes them qualified? A researcher is only now building a picture.

Why become a ministerial staffer
Working in a minister’s office can be a great boon for a public servant’s career. They depart with the department’s blessings and their profile is instantly raised upon returning.

SPOTLIGHT:
Bureaucrat in the MO: in some cases return to portfolio 'not possible'
Still many concerns about lax rules for ministerial staffer appointments
Mind the rise — and ever rise — of ministerial advisers
'Advisers are here to stay, so you’ve got to make it work'


How waitressing, lifeguarding and debt collecting prepared us for journalism

 


Exclusive at AFR PM's top public servant Martin Parkinson ends 'mandarin model'


Martin Parkinson wants PM&C to be liked, not feared. 'That's our ambition' | afr.com - Financial Review


The data social scientists have generated indicate that transitions to democracy often fail: Some countries lose their democracy, and those that do only get it back in rare and very specific circumstances. France became democratic again after the defeat of the Vichy government and Nazi Germany. Hungary and Poland were supposed to be shining examples of transitions to democracy. Those countries may yet live up to democratic ideals that as EU members they ostensibly share with other democracies, but because of what Orban and Kaczynski have done, the path to that goal will be long and hard. As for Turkey, no doubt the military will outlast Erdogan, but it is unclear if it will outlast Erdoganism Strongmen die, but authoritarianism is forever

Business is dominated by plans and analysis. But people are not moved by logic alone. According to the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, behind every apparently sensible scientist is a child who was irrationally drawn to fire. Reason, when animated by the fire of emotion, has the power to motivate and move individuals more than facts alone ever could. An inspired group is likely to achieve much more than one merely doing its job.
Amazing Circle of Innovation 

Wall Street Journal, Don’t Just Dive Into Action: Stop to Think First, by Bradley Staats (North Carolina Business School; author, Never Stop Learning: Stay Relevant, Reinvent Yourself and Thrive (Harvard Business Review Press (2018)):
As we’ve seen in recent weeks, some of the most dramatic moments of the World Cup are the penalty kicks, when the outcome of an entire match can rest on a showdown between the shooter and the goalie. In a penalty kick, the ball is placed 11 meters from the goal line and centered on the goal. The goalie must stay on the line but may move left or right before the ball is kicked.



Eight simple* rules for making stuff with government
Three Victorian government agencies opened their doors for Women in Tech over six months. The participants distilled what they learned and identified eight success factors for supporting innovation in government.


As multinationals gear up to fight ATO, it turns focus on abuse of IP


Paul Pisasale now living reclusive life in city he spent so long spruiking

Bell tolls to farewell Ipswich's town crier | Queensland Times




Victoria Police charged with bullying
"Victoria Police has been charged with several bullying-related offences in an unprecedented step by WorkSafe." (The Age)


Government wants people to dob in phoenixes to new hotline


Australian economy losing billions due to companies deliberately going broke, PwC finds



Government Reorganization: Key Questions to Assess Agency Reform Efforts GAO-18-427: Published: Jun 13, 2018
“A March 2017 executive order requiring executive branch agency reorganization is intended to improve efficiency and effectiveness. If it works, it could save billions of dollars—but similar reform efforts in the past have not always come to fruition. Our prior work on government reform indicates that agencies can change if they follow an effective process allocate sufficient implementation resources consider workforce needs during and after the reform In this report, we provide questions that Congress can ask in its critical oversight role to determine whether agencies are on track for effective change.”