Kudos to ACT Govt for chocolate fundraiser ban in its workplaces

I’ve just run this initiative through my Green Left policy initiate algorithm. Inputs as follows:

1. Zero cost to the proponents, but likely to have some impact on people we don’t care about anyway? YES

2. Token gesture that won’t make any real difference to anything? YES

3. Token gesture which will win the support of all those who wouldn’t be seen dead eating the common sort of chocolate produced by multinationals? YES

4. Token gesture that will win the support of those who wouldn’t be seen dead eating with common sort of people? YES

5. Opportunity to grandstand about your own choice in ‘high class’ chocolate? YES

Unsurprisingly, the algorithm produced a positive result. Suggested alternatives were:

1. Small paper bags of Fair Trade ‘organic’ lentils, of dubious origin and overpriced but clearly marked ‘Special’ on both sides of the bag.

2. Abandon fund-raising altogether. Put all efforts into lobbying ‘the government’ to pay for everything.

What a draconian, but typical, approach from the Labor/Greens government; outlaw anything they don’t like, and to hell with the people affected by it. I’m thankful I don’t work in a place that’s controlled by Kim Jong Barr.

rommeldog56 said :

Is the support of this inane decision by the ACT Labor/Greens Govt seriously what Canberrians have become ?

And Canberra isn’t a nanny state ??? Groan…..

It could only happen in Canberra.

Eh, not much different to the proposed lockout laws which prevented EVERYONE from staying out and having a few drinks, due to the actions of a few idiots.

The thing that really burnt me about that was, now that I and the wife work such ridiculous hours, a 2am lockout would really have impacted on our ability to at have a night out every once in a while. but hey, we just work our arses off and pay ridiculous amounts of tax, why should our enjoyment factor into anything…. /rant

This is bonkers !

In the same vein then, all ACT Govt public servants should have their bags checked to see that any home made lunches are indeed “healthy” (god forbid what will happen to anyone smuggling in chocolates !), all vending machines selling chips / anything choc coated & other unhealthy snack foods must be removed from ACT Govt premises, all ACT Govt workplaces lunches and Section teas/farewells/birthday celebrations must not contain anything with chocolate in/on it (begone chocolate cakes for staff functions), all external lunch venues must only have “healthy” food on the menu, etc.

But why stop at chocolate ? Why not also ban from ACT Govt workplaces dairy foods such as cheese and full cream milk, cakes, etc, too. And what about those ACT public servants who dare bring back some greasy artery hardening take away or MSG flooded Chinese food back to the workplace at lunch time ? Should they be stopped at the security desk as those foods may be injurious to their health ? Surely, if they don’t eat it all but offer the left overs to others, they should be counselled ????

Is the support of this inane decision by the ACT Labor/Greens Govt seriously what Canberrians have become ? And Canberra isn’t a nanny state ??? Groan…..

It could only happen in Canberra.

rommeldog56 said :

If overweight people have that little self control, why wouldnt they bring in their own chocolates, get some at lunch time or stop at shops on way home to buy them,

If I buy one of these chocolates it’s not about filling a desperate craving. I’m not going to search out other opportunities, I’m going to buy one because I’m tired/bored/stressed/irritated and it’s right there on my way back from some interminable meeting.

If I have chocolates in the house I find it hard to restrain myself, so I employ the obvious strategy of not bringing them home. If I want a snack at work I eat an apple, because that’s all I take with me. This is rather undercut by a box of chocolates for sale ten metres from my desk.

Could be a good thing, in every place I have worked these fundraising chokkie boxes always end up very short when the funds are tallied…The finger pointing then starts and grudges lasting years are formed.
The fattest, spottiest dude always cops the blame.

I like your thinking, you don’t like charity chocolates, you have no self control, you aren’t responsible for your own actions, so lets ban it so no one can have them.

Talk about nanny state.

All the members of the government can of course lead by example and not drink at functions; not include sugary foods at government-funded dinners … in fact, to be environmentally as sound as possible all government catering should be vegan.

If anyone shouldn’t eat chocolate – just don’t eat it! I hardly ever buy fundraiser chocolate, but when I do I’m glad my money is going to a cause and not Coles/Woollies!

Jon said :

And what about various work social clubs that buy chocolates and drinks and sell them to their colleagues during the year so they can have a slightly lower per person cost for the end of year Christmas party? At work, we don’t sell inflated chocolate frogs and call it “charity” – we sell Lindt and Malteasers and have a drinks fridge – all marked up by only around 10 – 15% – and consider it a convenience for our colleagues.

And any money we might be lucky enough to have made during the year helps allow a lower cost of our Christmas party – something that enables the less well off among our team to more easily afford to join in the celebrations.

Would this rule apply to us to?

Drinking and intoxication there might be unwanted contact. From 2017 all work events are cancelled.

If you walked upto a woman and said she shouldnt eat chocolate because she might get fat expect a punch in the face. However be a local government its basically fat shaming all the people whom work for ACT government.

The people who have put this in place must walk around and talk about how overweight everyone is. Effectively any meeting about implementing this is workplace harassment.

Why only chocolate eaters? Whats next a ban on smokers from being employed. New maximum weight requirements.

Are there going to be a number of positions opened only to people that ride to work?

Are they going to ban coffee that isn’t ethically sourced?

Is there a mimimun wage that the clothing makers need to be paid to wear a garment to work?

Sugar should also be banned from the public service coffee machines as well. There is nothing stopping these weak minded people with sweet tooth from having 3,4,5 sugars in one hot beverage or even people adding 5 sugar sachets to their can of coke.

Sugar is the real problem facing Canberra, not terrorists, gun runners, drug importers, hit men (which a certain community seem to be lining up for new jobs everyday now) kiddy fiddlers, I could keep going. All which seem too be getting off lightly in this country.

I feel we need more health and safety power point presentations and no sugar by 2025 slogans to be recited every working day to help the public service get over this weakness and addiction to sugar.

The savings from buying over priced sugar andsweetener satchels will help the budget and the trams bottom line for the whole ACT community.

And what about various work social clubs that buy chocolates and drinks and sell them to their colleagues during the year so they can have a slightly lower per person cost for the end of year Christmas party? At work, we don’t sell inflated chocolate frogs and call it “charity” – we sell Lindt and Malteasers and have a drinks fridge – all marked up by only around 10 – 15% – and consider it a convenience for our colleagues.

And any money we might be lucky enough to have made during the year helps allow a lower cost of our Christmas party – something that enables the less well off among our team to more easily afford to join in the celebrations.

Would this rule apply to us to?

If it’s not chocolates it will be mangoes. If not mangoes, sunscreen. If not sunscreen, carrots. Wait, not carrots. They can go stick their carrots…

Heavs said :

In the near future you’re going to have groups of public servants huddled outside the building (15m away from the entrance of course) smashing down a quick Bounty or Mars in the wind and rain before shuffling back to their desk.

I realise this was irony, but it’s a neat illustration of the point – smoking cigarettes in and around workplaces directly impacts on the health of other workers through passive smoking. Eating chocolates in the workplace doesn’t really do that.

In the near future you’re going to have groups of public servants huddled outside the building (15m away from the entrance of course) smashing down a quick Bounty or Mars in the wind and rain before shuffling back to their desk.

Blen_Carmichael said :

“‘Smith!’ screamed the shrewish voice from the telescreen. ‘6079 Smith W.! Yes, you! Bend lower, please! You can do better than that. You’re not trying. Lower, please! That’s better, comrade. Now stand at ease, the whole squad, and watch me.’

A sudden hot sweat had broken out all over Winston’s body. His face remained completely inscrutable. Never show dismay! Never show resentment! A single flicker of the eyes could give you away. He stood watching while the instructress raised her arms above her head and — one could not say gracefully, but with remarkable neatness and efficiency — bent over and tucked the first joint of her fingers under her toes.

‘There, comrades! That’s how I want to see you doing it. Watch me again. I’m thirty-nine and I’ve had four children. Now look.’ She bent over again. ‘You see my knees aren’t bent. You can all do it if you want to,’ she added as she straightened herself up. ‘Anyone under forty-five is perfectly capable of touching his toes. We don’t all have the privilege of fighting in the front line, but at least we can all keep fit. Remember our boys on the Malabar front! And the sailors in the Floating Fortresses! Just think what they have to put up with. Now try again. That’s better, comrade, that’s much better,’ she added encouragingly as Winston, with a violent lunge, succeeded in touching his toes with knees unbent, for the first time in several years.”

You are supposed to eat chocolate, not snort it or smoke it.

Blen_Carmichael said :

“‘Smith!’ screamed the shrewish voice from the telescreen. ‘6079 Smith W.! Yes, you! Bend lower, please! You can do better than that. You’re not trying. Lower, please! That’s better, comrade. Now stand at ease, the whole squad, and watch me.’

A sudden hot sweat had broken out all over Winston’s body. His face remained completely inscrutable. Never show dismay! Never show resentment! A single flicker of the eyes could give you away. He stood watching while the instructress raised her arms above her head and — one could not say gracefully, but with remarkable neatness and efficiency — bent over and tucked the first joint of her fingers under her toes.

‘There, comrades! That’s how I want to see you doing it. Watch me again. I’m thirty-nine and I’ve had four children. Now look.’ She bent over again. ‘You see my knees aren’t bent. You can all do it if you want to,’ she added as she straightened herself up. ‘Anyone under forty-five is perfectly capable of touching his toes. We don’t all have the privilege of fighting in the front line, but at least we can all keep fit. Remember our boys on the Malabar front! And the sailors in the Floating Fortresses! Just think what they have to put up with. Now try again. That’s better, comrade, that’s much better,’ she added encouragingly as Winston, with a violent lunge, succeeded in touching his toes with knees unbent, for the first time in several years.”

“War is Peace.”
“Freedom is Slavery.”
“Ignorance is Strength.”

And surveillance cameras are everywhere nowadays.

“‘Smith!’ screamed the shrewish voice from the telescreen. ‘6079 Smith W.! Yes, you! Bend lower, please! You can do better than that. You’re not trying. Lower, please! That’s better, comrade. Now stand at ease, the whole squad, and watch me.’

A sudden hot sweat had broken out all over Winston’s body. His face remained completely inscrutable. Never show dismay! Never show resentment! A single flicker of the eyes could give you away. He stood watching while the instructress raised her arms above her head and — one could not say gracefully, but with remarkable neatness and efficiency — bent over and tucked the first joint of her fingers under her toes.

‘There, comrades! That’s how I want to see you doing it. Watch me again. I’m thirty-nine and I’ve had four children. Now look.’ She bent over again. ‘You see my knees aren’t bent. You can all do it if you want to,’ she added as she straightened herself up. ‘Anyone under forty-five is perfectly capable of touching his toes. We don’t all have the privilege of fighting in the front line, but at least we can all keep fit. Remember our boys on the Malabar front! And the sailors in the Floating Fortresses! Just think what they have to put up with. Now try again. That’s better, comrade, that’s much better,’ she added encouragingly as Winston, with a violent lunge, succeeded in touching his toes with knees unbent, for the first time in several years.”

I agree 100% with Charlotte. This is my perspective:

These use the same justification as for keeping pokies, because like 5% goes to community organisations. Enriching companies through guilt or addiction of ordinary ppl on the justification of a small payoff for a good cause is not right, the ends do NOT justify the means. Ban them from all schools and sporting groups also while we’re at it!

Corporate philanthropy is great (Ronald McDonald House for example although I hate the corporation) but using kids as agents for a small cut to push your product is just wrong (in the case of schools, i object to schools using them more than the PS).

Ppl buy them out of guilt, especially ppl who might have an addiction problem with too much sugary food, and the amount of money that goes back to the ppl trying to make money from it drops every year and is pitiful these days.

Corporate freedom is not the same as real freedom, and this is not nanny state, this is reigning in corporate greed that uses children as unpaid agents of profit and guilt and addiction to make massive sales.

If someone opens a pop-up chocolateria in Braddon which sells child labour free and forest alliance grown halal chocolate, the hipster public servants will be falling over themselves to buy them.

It will be the choice of gift for green/alternative types also.

If overweight people have that little self control, why wouldnt they bring in their own chocolates, get some at lunch time or stop at shops on way home to buy them, U can not protect people from themselves. People have to make their own decisions.

Talk about a nanny state………