Another senior ACT bureaucrat makes his escape.

When people at that level start leaving you have to wonder what they know that we don’t. My suspicion is many of the senior execs realise that Stanhope is likely to be out of a job at the next election, and want to get out now to beat the rush.

I agree with the contracting comment too. Why would you take on a role with heaps of pressure and responsibility when you can do half the work for the same (or more) $$?

I managed to jag a redundancy package from the ACTPS and was offered a contract job for more money the very DAY I signed my acceptance of the offer{I had to defer them until I packed my office and smiled through my farewells). I contracted around until I found a nice little possy with some interesting work, about 5km from my front door and allowed the Feds to employ me.

Working in the big pond is safer, calmer and better paid; but my capacity to believe 15 impossible things before lunch has reduced, I haven’t had a Minister or Chief Executive shriek at me for a year or more, and my family recognises me in daylight.

That said I do miss the friendships that are created in the pressure-cooker environment. I miss the immediacy and breadth of the work. I miss the malicious gossip. I miss laughing ’til I cried over the next Cunning Plan That Could Not Fail. Most of all, I miss the excitement of being able to do policy development, program management and service delivery in a single job.

Why would anyone want to work for the ACT PS, when the feds across the road are paying more and have better job security? I would be interested to hear why people stay.

Oops, that was meant to say
“Herding cats” – I love that phrase
but I put in a left angle bracket to try to make an arrow and it spat the dummy.

“Herding cats”

So rats are leaving a sinking ship.

And one rat was herding cats. That’s a very interesting mental image.

Everyone’s going contracting.

The ACT market in particular right now is booming!