29. Excellence

I am Greg and I want to grumble about that genre of mindless bureaucracy which is service quality standards or service excellence accreditation.

The accreditation is a potentially useful idea sabotaged by a focus on process rather than outcomes as someone goes into a workplace they may have no understanding of to ensure that a series of policies and practices are in place – regardless of whether or not those predetermined processes are useful or appropriate.

And so, there are occupational health and safety processes to ensure that office workers don’t get paper cuts in the paperless offices, whilst at the same time ignoring the big issues of workload, long hours, and job insecurity.

There are staff management policies which ensure that the most ruthless bosses know which boxes to tick and the best managers can’t do what might actually promote good work; and privacy policies full of stunning requirements like keeping people’s private information private.

There are even policies about having policies, but not, sadly, about whether the work and service is actually excellent.

And that is the point. Excellence is about a focus on people’s needs and outcomes, it is not about an accumulation of processes divorced from outcomes, and organisational structures and cultures.

Any accreditation divorced from outcomes, but particularly in relation to services to vulnerable and disadvantaged people is insulting, and a great waste of time and resources, but apparently you won’t be eligible for government grants and contracts if you don’t have such important paperwork. Not that that will stop another set of bureaucrats asking you again for the same policies when you apply for or report on the abovesaid grants.

So while we hear lots of talk about red tape reduction, and have seen some good moves at state and federal level lately, there is still a long, long way to go.

I am Greg and I am grumbling.


This Grumble can be heard online or by podcast.
First Broadcast: 18 February 2014

28. Pay Day Lending

Hi, I am Greg and I want to grumble about pay day lending. Maybe I spent too much time over summer watching sport on TV, but I got sick of being bombarded with advertisements offering me nimble loans or shouting CashTrain. I could also see a cash wizard, and if I couldn’t sell junk to Cash Converters I could perhaps get a loan there. So much cash available so easily (loans approved in less than 60 minutes).

Payday lending, that is, short term loans for relatively small amounts may be useful to get tide you over a cash shortage if something sudden comes up, but as Humphrey Bogart famously said in Casablanca, “for a price Ugati, for a price”. And what a price it is – interest rates equivalent to 48% per annum interest, plus an establishment fee of around 20% of the loan sum. Using one company’s loan calculator, a $500 loan for just over two weeks would cost more than a $120 bucks. And then there are extra charges if you change the term of the loan, or make late payments, or if they have to send you follow-up letters.

Of course, it is good that these fees are disclosed clearly on the company websites, but it is a bit nauseating when the companies trumpet that they are being upfront and that there are no hidden fees and charges. The disclosure is required by law and they don’t mention that their fees are often the maximum permitted by law. Or that the payday lending industry fought tooth and nail against better regulation and caps on when they were introduced a couple of years ago.

Despite the advertising, they’re not my best mate – my best mate wouldn’t charge me effectively 25% interest on a short term loan. But that is the point, people who are better off usually have access to credit or other financial resources. And those that don’t pay a premium for their poverty.

But maybe it is all ok. If I get into financial trouble, there is another whole series of adverts with the extremely rich Tammy May telling us that My Budget will sort out my finances – and add to hers.

There are better ways to help people struggling with sudden bills and cost of living pressures, but with private interests cashing in on poverty, I can only wonder how long it will be before charities’ financial counselling and assistance programs are seen as “anti-competitive”, or government funding of services is accused of crowding-out the private sector.

I am Greg and I am grumbling.


This Grumble can be heard online or by podcast.


First Broadcast: 11 February 2014

27. Biases and lots of other things

Hi, I am Greg and I want to grumble about lots of things! As the political year ratchets up, there has been so much to grumble about in the last week or so. There was our PM attacking the ABC for reporting asylum seeker claims of abuse, followed by a litany of Coalition MPs complaining (again) about the Labor-Green bias of the ABC – in the same week that our national broadcaster aired serious corruption allegations against building unions. But why is it that the scandal is about dodgy people in the unions, but not also the dodgy builders who paid them the alleged bribes. Sounds like bias to me.

Then there was Andrew Bolt complaining (Advertiser, 30 January) about racism and claiming to be indigenous (he really doesn’t understand race or structural power does he?). And on Mr Bolt’s other favourite subject, what about the weather? Another record heatwave to follow the all-time hottest year in Australia last year. It’s unpleasant, but at what point do we move from a discussion of weather to one of climate change – or is that a biased question?

Apparently not biased however is the recent government appointment of another of the diaspora of the right-wing think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs. This time it was Ted Lapkin to assist in dismantling the national charity regulator that was set up just 18 months ago with support from the sector and on recommendation of about a dozen official inquiries.

And on the other side, what are we to make of the current state Labor Party TV adverts with the normally calm and thoughtful Jay Weatherill bouncing around unnaturally like a cross between Peter Garrett and a thunderbirds marionette. Given that he is trying to convey the achievements of his government, it’s a distraction which says again that the political image-masters are valuing impression over substance – and doing it badly at that. And then along came Don Farrell. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, across the border the WA government is sanctioning the slaughter of sharks and the NT government is shooting crocs in bloody retribution against innocent creatures. As we sprawl into their territory and tame or kill whatever confronts us, I am left yet again to wonder, how much room are we to leave for the other 99.999% of the planet’s species?

So much to grumble about, and so little time. I am Greg and I am grumbling.

This Grumble can be heard online or by podcast.
First Broadcast: 4 February 2014