So Phil Pennington says on RNZ that server contracts for Three Waters are going to a company controlled by the surviving Koch Brother;

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Koch_Brothers

Just... why?!?

This is being driven by a government-mandated "cloud first policy", despite the fact that as well as reducing control over services and data, putting servers in the "cloud" almost always ends up being more expensive than any other way of hosting servers.

Just... why?!?

#NZ #PublicService #ThreeWaters #KochBrothers

“Each of us has a role to play & responsibilities to uphold,” the statement says. “Our elected officials must #lead by example & #govern effectively in ways that deliver for the American #people. This, in turn, will help to restore #trust in #PublicService. The rest of us must engage in #civil dialogue; #respect democratic institutions & #rights; uphold #safe, #secure & #accessible #elections; & #contribute to #local, #state or #national improvement.”

Last month, I've tooted how it took from to weeks up to a month for my letters to go from Paris to Kent.

Some people had it difficult to believe me, here you go :

"Royal Mail’s future in doubt after delivery targets missed in every postcode

Next three months ‘make or break’ for the company, which has lost a tenth of its business to rivals and delivered a £750 million loss

The future of the Royal Mail is in doubt after it failed to hit its delivery targets in every UK postcode this summer.

Households in postage blackspots are waiting up to two weeks for deliveries, putting the NHS under strain as missed hospital appointments become a “continuous occurrence”.

A cancer sufferer who underwent surgery last month said it was “shocking” that letters from his doctor had arrived after he was expected to attend appointments.

A source close to the company said the next three months were “make or break” for Royal Mail after it lost a tenth of its business to rivals in a year of strikes, and delivered a £750 million loss..."

#RoyalMail #Privatization #PublicService #England

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/royal-mail-delivery-targets-missed-every-postcode-kqmb2pcss

"As a first generation college student, I grew up in a community that helped each other. You have to be a strong relationship builder and fill other people's cups."

Megan Damico is a STEM Policy Fellow at NC Biotech and an active advocate for stronger and more resilient communities.

Read more about how Damico builds bridges: https://scipolnetwork.org/nspn?recordId=recdsRCAyzhwCz33q&utm_source=social2308&utm_medium=social-media&utm_campaign=mastodon

#Environment #Microbiology #Biology #Community #PublicService #CivicScience #LocalEngagement #Engagement #SciPol #SciencePolicy #Policy

At my temporary place of work the emails stop at 5pm and don't start up again until 8.30 in the morning and I have never experienced anything like it.
#PublicService

Declining integrity standards a national problem

"Politicians, whatever their persuasion, are reluctant to see themselves exposed to investigation, to the identification of failings."

"In an exclusive in-depth interview with 7.30, Mr Redlich explained why the reforms he proposed to strengthen the agency are vital to upholding integrity in the state. Mr Redlich's investigations brought the dark underbelly of decision-makers and those in power out of the shadows."

"He and other anti-corruption commissioners have identified the hollowing out and marginalisation of the public service and the rise of a shadow workforce of political advisors."

"Robert Redlich has expressed his disappointment about reforms not passing in parliament." He "says raising the bar for public hearings has weakened IBAC
Integrity standards have deteriorated in several states..."

"The change would allow probes into grey-level corruption that may not be illegal but still represent serious misconduct."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-22/robert-redlich-ibac-vic-government-missed-opportunity-730/102762376
#PublicService #politician #DecisionMakers #misconduct #corruption #IBAC #watchdog #AntiCorruptionCommission #governance #PublicInterest #transparency

Det er ikke fordi jeg ser særlig meget #DR eller TV i det hele taget, men det er godt nok trist den retning det går, at alting kræver at man er logget ind. Det næste bliver vel at man også skal være logget ind for at læse nyheder på dr.dk.

Jeg kommer i hvert fald nok til at gå fra at se "ikke så meget" DR til "slet intet". #dkpol #PublicService

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/kultur/snart-kraever-det-et-login-se-drs-programmer-drtv-bliver-foerst-godt-naar-man-logger

The Big Con:
How the Consulting Industry Weakens our Businesses, Infantilizes our Governments and Warps our Economies. Mazzucato, Mariana; Collington, Rose, eds. (2023).
https://marianamazzucato.com/books/the-big-con
#book #Mazzucato #big4 #ConsultingIndustry #State #capacity #tax #outsource #governance #accountability #PublicService #KnowHow #knowledge #dependency

Australia and the Big 4
How the big four accounting firms infiltrated governments, earning more than $10b over a decade while taxpayers are in the dark
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-17/pwc-ey-kpmg-deloitte-government-10-billion/102602370

Butler to the World:
How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals, Oliver Bullough. 2022
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250281920/butlertotheworld

https://www.codastory.com/newsletters/oligarchs/
Tracking how the super rich are changing the world for the rest of us, Oliver Bullough.
#Britain #crime #AntisocialBehaviour #Tycoons #TaxDodgers #Kleptocrats #Criminals

I appreciate news sites that go to the trouble of offering low-bandwidth versions and RSS feeds. #PublicService #Journalism

Sure, I'm awash in bandwidth here at the ol' fiber-equipped bungalow, but I'm not on the move fleeing wildfires.

Way to go, CBC Lite.

https://medium.com/cbc-digital-labs/cbc-lite-release-notes-cbc-ca-lite-a562a5529738

https://www.cbc.ca/lite/news?sort=editors-picks

The Future is Public: Global manifesto for public services

Fantastic work and well worth a re-visit. #publicservices #publicservice #publicsector #union

Looking for recommendations about bold ideas for the role of the #publicsector
Who should I follow?
What should I read?

Who are the exciting thinkers/communicators in your networks?

(and do we all love libraries?)

#publicservice

#introduction We are the Allen County, Indiana team of the @arrl Amateur Radio Emergency Service. We just migrated from mastodon.radio when we learned that mastodon.hams.social is more local to us. Our leaders plan to use this account to communicate about team activities, including #Skywarn net activation. #ARES #EmComm #EmergencyCommunication #EmergencyPreparedness #EmergencyManagement #HamRadio #AmateurRadio #SevereWeather #SevereWX #publicservice

In the high-stakes arena of politics, do ends ever justify any means in the quest for power and influence? Where should we draw the line between pragmatism and principles?

https://abeautifulmess.substack.com/p/the-ends-of-power-navigating-ethics

#PoliticalEthics #LeadershipEthics #EndsVsMeans #PoliticalPower #DemocraticNorms #PoliticalRealism #PublicService #Integrity #Compromise #Truth #Transparency #Corruption #Ethics #Politics #LeadershipValues #PoliticalTheory #PoliticalScience #ABeautifulMess

'Consultants are everywhere'

"Australia's spending on consultants is among the highest in the world."

"Australian governments have paid the big four firms a staggering $10 billion over the past decade."

"The consultants are pretty much feasting on the public service."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-07/kpmg-consultants-overcharging-defence-four-corners/102644518
#ShadowState #governance #PublicService #tax

Good bloody grief. I thought the "ethics" of REHIRING PwC was perfectly clear to all.

Or did the finance department completely miss the #RoboDebtRC??

#AusPol #Utopia #PublicService

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/03/australian-finance-department-hires-consultant-to-advise-on-hiring-consultants-in-move-compared-to-abcs-utopia

#AusPol #PublicService

RT ~ Rex Patrick @MrRexPatrick

"A consultant engaged to advise Finance on how it should engage consultants.

"The Dept’s Secretary is on $892K, three of her deputies earn circa $450K each, and yet no one can make a decision without external help.

"A big rethink is required! "

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/03/australian-finance-department-hires-consultant-to-advise-on-hiring-consultants-in-move-compared-to-abcs-utopia

The minute someone decided viewer numbers mattered to #PublicService public service was ruined.

#Media #TV

https://www.smh.com.au/national/anthony-fauci-on-australia-s-covid-response-ai-and-the-next-pandemic-20230727-p5drm8.html “there has been a phenomenal degree of #PoliticalDivisiveness, which spilled over into how we looked and acted towards the #pandemic,” he said. “#Students and young people who were enthusiastic about getting involved in #science and #PublicService see that #scientists are being #threatened, they’re being #harassed, and they’re being disrespected.”

Dr. Pernick and PathologyOutlines.com have set up the Pernick Prize, an annual award giving scholarships to Detroit Public School students excelling in Mathematics, Medicine/Science and Public Service.
2023 awardees: Siam Hossain, Mathematics; Alexandra Soto, Medicine; and Tanya Brown, Public Service.
Watch a video from Kerrie Mitchell, Executive Director of the Detroit Public Schools Foundation.
https://dpsfdn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/DPSF-Pernick-Prize-2023.mp4?_=1

#detroit #mathematics #medicine #science #publicservice #award

A shake-up of the Big Four consulting firms requires a level of public understanding we are yet to reach.
"While 60% of Australians say they have heard of the scandal, an even bigger majority (67%) could not tell you what is actually going on."
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/25/a-shake-up-of-the-big-four-consulting-firms-requires-a-level-of-public-understanding-we-are-yet-to-reach
#CivicEducation #CollectiveInertia #PublicService #governance