Council mergers in NSW? A few weeks ago, New South Wales mayors and their general managers were summoned to Sydney to be strongly encouraged to form partnerships. Speculation is that amalgamations are on the way.

Jobs not so Open at the ABC. Is ABC Open being cut back before it begins? I applied for a position and was disappointed when I got an email suggesting I hadn’t got past the first cull. Recently I learned the position in my region was canned and wonder if others were too …?

Kristina dissed in the planning? I was at a function yesterday (Bulky Goods Retailers Association forum) where the Minister for Planning in NSW, Tony Kelly, spoke. He discussed the planning process and infrastructure, and made a comment along the following lines: “Mostly politicians promise what is practical and then seek to budget to this, however the Premier wishes to run the budget like a household budget, and therefore we have $50 million only to spend over five years”. A thinly veiled dig at Kristina? Is there dissension among  the ranks? Kristina spoke at the same time last year when she was planning minister, and was significantly more informative.

Fixing the insulation mess — and your handicap. One of my best mates has picked up one of the insulation checking gigs. He only has to do five of the inspections per day as the punters need to be at the houses to let him in. He reckons some take five minutes, others up to an hour. He gets paid from the time he leaves home in the morning to when he gets home. On some of the quieter days in between appointments he has managed to fit in nine holes of golf. He is of the belief that about one in 10 jobs have been done incorrectly — some of the insulation just hasn’t been put in properly, quite often right over the top of down lights, which make the risk of fire increase. His job is to report the problems, not to correct them.