Senior football skipper Matt Deane and A-grade captain Maddie Wong tied the knot recently, cementing their position at the top of the ‘power couple’ tree.
Oddie is a regular peruser of the dictionary in his spare time; the Macquarie, specifically, is his book of choice.
And a couple of news items this week reminded Oddie of one of his favourite words: irony.
The Macquarie says the definition of irony is: the quality or effect or implication of a speech or situation in a play or the like understood by the audience, but not grasped by the characters of the piece.
Another definition might be: A state government admonishing a local council for “sub-standard service” just one day before the government itself is criticised by the Victorian Ombudsman for the “creeping politicisation” of the public service.
On Tuesday, December 5 Local Government Minister Melissa Horne issued a media release informing the ratepayers of Strathbogie Shire that their council had been “suspended” because councillors had “failed to fully appreciate and address the problems, which had resulted in the community receiving sub-standard service from its elected representatives” and “had been unable to resolve governance issues”.
Ms Horne added that the “Allan Labor Government is supporting and improving council accountability, governance and culture across the state” and new legislation “will elevate governance and integrity standards in the state’s 79 councils”.
The question that automatically follows is, who will do the same for the watchers of the watched?
On Wednesday, December 6 Ombudsman Deborah Glass released her findings from an investigation into the alleged politicisation of the state’s public sector.
The government under former premier Dan Andrews, and of which current premier Jacinta Allan was a key member, was criticised for the “closing down or marginalisation of apolitical, independent voices”, “excessive secrecy and the use of consultants”, the “frequent appointment of former ministerial staffers without open and advertised processes” and that “there is a widely held perception among executives that speaking candidly about the government’s preferred course carries a personal cost”.
Ironic, that.
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