2018: Honouring Bureaucracy

So they’re giving themselves a Royal Award for bureaucracy and a Public Service Day! Damn that’s funny! I wonder why they didn’t invent this sooner? Incidentally, can I get a week of there not having to be a ‘Week For’ or ‘Day For’ something? If this keeps happening we’re going to need to move all the bureaucrats to to Mars (687 day year) in some sort of Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B scenario¹. Sounds good.

The culture of bureaucratization stems from the Liberal Party Era in New Zealand history, 1891-1912. Since then, more and more private community organisation has been ‘crowded out’ and vested instead in paid agents of The State. By at least 1932 the Bureaucrats had formed their own special clubs and started exchanging awards and certificates with one another. The Prime Minister, also, already has a special award for these guys before this newly announced Royal Medal.

Besides, very many bureaucrats have been decorated with medals over the years for all sorts of things without a special ‘Good Beurocratting’ catagory being made up. Within their own services like the military, Police, Customs, Corrections, etc. they often have medals anyhow. Of course adding another five per year from now on makes no social impact; It’s a political power move intended to empower Labour 6.0.

“Stairway to Heaven”

The 5 recipients in 2019 for the year 2018 were drawn from the Ministry of Education, Ministry for Children, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Ministry of Culture and Heritage, Prime Minister’s Office.

“Both the Public Service Medal and the Commendation lapel pin carry the design of the Māori Poutama or step design found in Tukutuku wall panels. These allude to the ‘stairway to heaven’ or in this instance the ‘steps of service’”- SSC

This new move may signal an interesting change in this culture bringing us ever closer to the great ‘Jump the Shark’ moment when we stop taking The State seriously.

If nothing else, having 5 bureaucracy medals up for grabs will claim much energy to resentment as Victimhood Culture Middlemen Middle-Persons resentfully scrap about who should/didn’t/did get an Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence. They’re a jealous lot.

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Note. “The State Services Commissioner has announced that Public Service Day is 7 November. Peter Hughes says, “It’s also an opportunity to remind ourselves that New Zealand has a Public Service that values neutrality, fairness and integrity – a public service we can all be proud of.”; ssc.govt.nz; Google cache and gwn.govt.nz

Ref. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe: Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy- Volume II (1980)

Ref. Public Service Day Honours; SSC.gov

Ref. Public Service Day Awards 2019; SSC.gov

ps Public Service Commissioner Thomas Mark is my first suggestion of who should be awarded this medal. Ask me why, I might post about his story [Update: 1941: Defiant Bureaucrat Killed in Minister’s Office]

pps The other 4 could go out to these guys…”Parliamentary workers who complained about inappropriate behaviour in the Labour Party are fearful, intimidated, and feel they have not been taken seriously, says National Party deputy leader Paula Bennett.”; Labour Party sex scandal: ‘Fearful, intimidated, crying’ complainant contacts Paula Bennett; NZ Herald

Note: Interestingly, New Zealand’s Public Service Day has not been made to match the United Nations one. The UN’s version occurs a few days after the solstice, NZ’s a few days after the equinox. Both days mark the beginning of Summer for respective locations so maybe that’s it. The Mandarins think the Earth revolves around them?