Options out for scores on doors

while i fully understand that they are a vested interest, the clubs’ response to the proposed policy (see today’s CT) makes sense. if a venue meets standards, it should be open for business. if it fails to meet standards it should be closed. it seems fairly straightforward to me.

i’m not certain that the gov’t’s approach of treating restaurants as the “enemy” is the most effective. politically they may be scoring some points with the populace but the end goal is to have an effective approach that improves food safety without killing off small businesses. i like how they blithely dismiss education and training as a possible approach on the grounds that it will not on its own deliver the objectives… yet it seems to me that education and training coupled with strict enforcement would have a stronger impact than a scoring system. prevention is better than punishment in my view, and the scores on doors without any training or education seems like a pretty blunt instrument designed to drive non-compliant restaurants out of business after they screw up rather than help them to not screw up in the first place. of course recidivist offenders should be closed down, but there seems to be a real lack of clarity and an inconsistent application of standards…

this seems to me like yet another bandwagon policy with no real long-term vision behind it.

The scores on doors push is a bit of a smoke screen. The Auditor General’s office caned these blokes a while back and those findings show health protection should get its house in order first before emabrking on any grand schemes.

Figures showing an increase in improvement notices and closures being issued fits nicely with that agency (or rather its management) trying to show an improvement in response post auditor general’s report.

What was health protection doing before the auditor general came knocking? It seems suddenly there was an epidemic of non-compliant businesses? Smells off …

An element of butt covering me thinks.

Jesus wept. Like restaurant owners don’t already have enough to deal with without yet more ham-fisted regulation. This is the kind of thing that sends restaurants out of business.

It creates a culture of fear in the dining public, so how well a place performed on a “cleanliness test” becomes the sole arbiter of whether to eat there. By that rationale well all be eating at sterilized Maccas. Meanwhile, some bad luck in a good place (like silo) will get you blacklisted.

Your own kitchen is almost certainly dirtier than at least 90% of canberras restaurants.

ACT Tourism have repented rather riskily and feature the “redlisted” Silo in today’s interstate “Visit Canberra” supplement …

While I agree with some of what Dacquiri says, it is worth noting that the KPMG report makes it clear that a mandatory scheme for all registered food businesses is the preferred option when compared against the other three proposed options (all more limited in scope) and the status quo.

To me that is a good outcome and while I prefer the Toronto style traffic light system to the star ratings, it isn’t a bad thing.

Frankly, I think there is sufficient desire within government to make this happen and I think the community broadly supports a “Scores on Doors” type system, so I’m quite hopefully that a robust and effective system will emerge.

Better scores on doors than sicks on exits.

BimboGeek said :

Is it because it rhymes? What better basis could there be for an entirely new system of administration than a snappy catch phrase?

I once worked in an office where the Emergency procedures were listed on a sheet of paper using the first letter of the word Emergency for each line. It made me feel very safe. Especially the clip art.

BimboGeek said :

Is it because it rhymes? What better basis could there be for an entirely new system of administration than a snappy catch phrase?

Perhaps it could be brought in some other industries and ACT govenment programs.

Policitians?
Scores on Bores

Public Art?
Scores on Eyesores

Sex Industry?
Scores on Whores

Lake Burleigh Griffin?
Scores on Foreshores

Military?
Scores on Corps

I’m sure macca’s will get almost perfect scores in most places.

Is it because it rhymes? What better basis could there be for an entirely new system of administration than a snappy catch phrase?