Yes Minister

PM  I don't know why all the fuss. I've offered to reduce the red tape .

SirH  I think they don't trust you mam . You or Penny need to say directly  what you are going  to do about the situation . You gave the impression, until tweets arrived, that you didn't realize that duplication was the norm. Such duplication has to be justified if its not to jeopardize your accountability and your credibility .

PM  Did my mention of marine parks and biodiversity legislation increase my credibility ?
SirH  No, few investors on land or sea can get anything done because Greenlabor insists on control of both.
PM Should I have mentioned the Carbon Tax ?
Cameraman ( to himself) Do you want war? Everyone knows but you that the paperwork will drive people mad! 
SirH  They are trying to be nice mam . You and Wong have to be joking . The current situation is outta control NOW - what will 1000's of pages of speculation on "how to "and reporting "how done" do to business?
PM  Am I to be the focus of my staff and Greenlabor's  unreasonable non accountability??
no answer
SirH The people are sick of people in power trying to control how they, the people use everything, "You bad ,we good" -it's insulting to the public . You seem to think you are pleasing them when , infact,  you are pleasing the easy margin and rich ones who are the only ones in the country who can afford a lawyer to deal with this pile..
PM     I told them- I WILL reduce RED TAPE for the first time in 150 years .I am not sure about Penny and her team and Green labor - I've yet to consult with them

SirH I am sorry mam, your staff ONLY offered "first steps" . first steps  duplicating "nuisance and clear out undergrowth" you said
Cameraman (thinking)  Freudian  slip? If only she knew where the undergrowth was and how thick it was. .Finally they and every Shire DUPLICATING this rubbish round the country are going to stop worrying about twigs and branches ?? Oh God please make it happen ! 
Your other advisers are hedging and hiding on this . All of which is trivializing the seriousness of the situation. People are getting burned badly burned.
The people think you and your Green labor colleagues have no right to try and assess things that are firstly the job of the States  to assess.
PM You mean we could stay away from the messy bits and just come and trump the situation later ?
SirH That's the idea - occupy the high ground. On biodiversity alone, 3 different tiers of government send the investor out to try and track down some moving objects.
PM  You mean the "trumped up parrot "sort of thing ?
SirH  Yes,  but not just one parrot now - you have to pick from a list; And not just birds,  it could be amphibians, seeds and so on.  And of course it may not be there when you go looking for it..
Bern ( to himself) They would most certainly hope not! "Don't look too hard" . Its gottabe the law of diminishing real research at work !
PM  So as long as you,  as developer , pick the day or the season,  you would be right ?
SirH  Well yes sometimes  --but there can be lots of very small things to look for. You know what its like mam - the wannabes are sure to find , not what you know and have found , but that tiny thing you missed.
PM  Surely our staff would tell you which particular mobile object to look for ?
 SirH No , just a list and lots of formulas to process to see if you can "go" or "stop" .
Bern  ( to himself) The Arithmetic Method of making decisions. Must look that up . Sounds very innovative  
PM  So you reckon the same thing is happening from the Shires UP ?  3 or 4 levels of government all talking the same things - moving objects studies? What can we do to stop this?
SirH Make at least  ONE person do it properly and make that  one person name the bird and/or say what the real risks are !
PM  Sounds simple enough  Why doesn't it happen ?
SirH  There are mouths to feed , email boxes to fill, words to check, lawyers to engage
PM  OK  But who would know what the real risks are on a site ?
SirH  The people at the bottom
PM Well why don't they get heard ?
SirH Cause they are at the bottom ,  they are few in number, and making big decisions on biodiversity is for others up higher to do.
Cameraman  Clearly once you get beyond the paddock , no one upstairs is likely to have any idea.
Bern  ( quietly) Explains a lot  . A lot of waste paper !
Cameraman ( to himself )  A rather new species of  race to the bottom ........could be good
PM Can we not JUST  reduce the redtape to big economic projects-as we promised --- is that not that progress?
Cameraman (thinking) What blatant hypocrisy  Not if the small players and lower budget players still have to bear the same burden they had before,
SirH No, mam,  it is not progress . All previous governments of all sorts cut short the process, if they want to
Bern Some professional public spirited planners have been saying for decades that the whole ERA process is a mess ; doesn't do anything but frustrate the people involved . Its like cancer and that's s how you should treat it. The growing process grows reports and avoids decision making.  Talk about Duplication 2*2*2  right down to Shires - every single Shire in the country is playing Canberra's  tune and passing the buck around .
Cameraman ( thinking ) What these dummies don't get is that duplication is ok if its checking,  and with lots of money you eventually get enough of the right reports and give in , but these are journeys of avoidance therapy - good intentions creating enormous evil  and of no practical effect - as Bligh and Carr said some  ...what ;"buffers" .big wins... what ... what  for duffers? Go or stop ..don't meddle 
SirH Let just ONE person do it properly and make that person say what the real risks are !

Bern  Which bird you mean?
Sir H part of it . Our system of government is not about institutional responsibility, but about personal responsibility. If the system is working you should be able to name the person or persons  responsible.
Bern  bit like the name of the rare animal, very very hard to find
SirH Yes minister.. we used to talk to you about being snowed - but even Wongy's staff don't know when they are being snowed

Bern Why doesn't she just sack all those staff whose history is calling for reports on reports and who can't make decisions. Surely that would solve the problem.  At least  let ONE person do it properly and say what the real risks are !

Sir H absolutely Bernard . It would solve the real problem,  but not her problem


Remember you heard this first from EA 12 April 4:55
The original Yes minister on this topic is great. Hard to believe that the dilemmas of being PM are now worse that 23 years ago - some of the problems clearly of parliaments own making .

Theatre critics and  students of reality would recognise that in reality SirH is not there - he doesn't get a look in these days. Much of the talk is pure speculation and fiction.  The real throng includes Wong and Shorten and other like minded cleverals. SirH, like many who could speak the full truth on this matter have been banished  to Sherwood forest where they at least reflect on the dangers of office , learn something about ecology, the evil created by mere good intentions,  and  how the world really works . Remember you heard it first on April 12 from EA copyright

Labels: red tape