Yes Minister

Scene    PM Secretary's office 

 Bernard  
Some times I think it would be better if I said nothing . This bloke is so desperate for ideas and so prone to runoff half cocked that I think it would be better if I never gave him any direction whatsoever .
Once he gets some simple something in his  head, he runs off with it . Next thing we are untangling him from the fence .  

SirH Exactly ..  That is why we must manage every moment of his life . He won't have time to think of anything but what we have told him .In a more effective world , we should be aiming to change his mind but even that looks and is on the edge of impossible . 

Bern but this boring stuff is NOW my life  .We are in the midst of the important, but lost in games . I don't want to hang around till he gets an idea . It  means we have to be here and around him just to make sure he doesn't just quickly  get ideas and try to move on them.   

SirH  Yes we share that pathetic duty to play parents and minders and not admit it  .  You think its bad that you have to wake me up in the middle of the night  but its me that has to stop the baby running out on the street and getting run over during the day
( to himself) I just wish you too wouldn't have ideas either cause  all these suggestions for solutions just create noise -- just like most chatter on the internet 

I told the PM he should not allow the Premiers  to run off and find their own solutions in a national crisis. 
Bern  But has he got the power and the expertise?   
SirH  He has the power ( sect of constitution eg  Biosecuriiy act .what  he doesn't have is the expertise -that is within the states . His role ( our role ) is to ensure that the right people talk to the right people  so that all the leaks don't sink the ship
The point is you don't let everyone do and say what they like to whoever they like ( well maybe at Christmas ) but NOT in a crisis and not for good governance generally .

Cameraman What a mess the West world is in now that they no longer  follow that particular child ( The urgent need for Jesus in our world - Greg Sheridan ) 

Bern What about those many times when he doesn't  want to listen to us  - when he insists on a second opinion . You know what's it like . rather than rely on your authority as parent you get some other person to say what you would say , 
I mean like that bloke who writes to us all the time .He clearly knows you need to spoon feed the minister  or he will go off the rails . ( that's why he writes so often and to the point of the day ) Its rare to have such ally .Why don't we get someone in like Modi  when we need to convince him to listen to us?  
SirH  you are right of course . I do use his advice ,but I never tell Modi or the meddler. We all of us are frightfully short of wisdom about how to do things.
And you think Modi will always have the ear of the PM ?  No even he knows that  and he knows from his own limited  students when he trying to educate / guide corral fence them that

the more he names the street names , the more street naming his eager quick fix students too will do before they really know what they are  doing or where they really expect to end . That the important thing - a good if still imperfect end

Bern  that isn't back where we started?  You mean all  we ever do is name streets ? 

Sir H   Pretty well 

Bern  Well for the longevity of us all,  why don't we have Modi on staff ?    

S\ir H    We could , but he is too involved and committed to  real adults making real investments in the field with the limited money we leave them productive types out there. He likes effectiveness and efficiency,  whereas our lot are lost in a losing game of trying to be more efficient .
Bern  As if we were made in the image of machines 
Sir H  yes  
The last thing he wants to do is run kindergarten classes and spend his life holding  hands. 

He lives in a different world . His demons aren't wearing him out on  a treadmill of his own minds making  He knows just how conservation works and rests in the peace of its wonder glory power and productivity 

copyright Modi Nov 2021































Bern  but you don't think it would be at least wise , consdering his distrust of us , to  tell the PM that you are consulting widely . 

Sirh  bsoltley not eranard . He only has to havea name and he would have him on line all he time  have in my job . No it msut come through me .as churchill said deemocacrymaybe full a leaks but  as long as there is no real crisis  it works wlle enough when we have their heads to make people think its  that head that is working 
  And wehn there is areal crisis ?
Sirh well thats the real glory of  this inherentance . It wors well enough in a crsis to make people feel comfoatable

Bern so why do so mnay wanna change it   to build back better 
Sir h  Well its true it still  doesn't work well and peoplecan see the cracks in it. this can happen when tehleader fooilshly hands around responsibilities to  premiers whena  anational crsiiso s on  > 

why would he do that ?
 Dont ask me The head is spinning we presume and the chilfren in a crsis are sreaming for immmediate action and the wannabes have suddenly got someproblem to solve and thgooge assiatant to help them 

yes thats all millios of them  

bern  You mean th elaeaks ?
Srh Spot on  whan the  leaks show is that there ia lot of bnoise , sidtaust and disconnection whn everyone jumps into soleve a real theat -- like COVID . 


so why wouldn't Modi 's advice be taken and win te cofidenec of the people .

The problem is for him is that he is not here , He can't hold the PMs hand throgh every aspect of solution imleanation . 

bern because it bot about th eanswers name but how the answer is prcatically put ( teh How) 

spot on again  If Mdi is not here ghe can't ensue that jhis a good idea is not bacdly impleeted . Take  Co2 reductions , The only CO2 stoge that works is under tebsea  or intimber ( which is no alllowed to burnt by nature ) 
Ber I get it because rooting and bushfres are natura but timberharvsting is not 

SH  Diversions after star