Public Eye: AEC ponders Mars attack, Healthy Harold is milkshake-ducked and Parliament's tennis court refurb

We found it a rich event, not least for its candid panellists and thoughtful speakers. One of the latter was Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers, who spoke about his agency's job protecting confidence in the nation's democracy in an age of higher expectations and social media.

He turned to some interesting stats to make his point, but it was his speech's dalliance with science fiction that best illustrated one of his arguments. Mr Rogers said community expectations of the Australian Electoral Commission were very high in the age of social media. His agency strived to meet them, he said.

"Even if Mars attacked a polling place ... a bizarre, not-thought-of thing, a lot of the response would be, 'well the AEC had three years, they should have prepared for it ... no excuse, I can't believe the AEC didn't think of that'."

It's funny, and sadly also kind of true. We'd almost put money on someone, somewhere in the Twitterverse saying such a thing during a Martian invasion (while we ran for safety of course).

Seriously though, what is the AEC's plan if Mars attacks on election day 2025?

Australia's most-loved anthropomorphic giraffe has been milkshake-ducked.

Last week, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation published an image of Healthy Harold, prompting social media users to "tag someone who has disappointed Healthy Harold".

"Hey besties, just letting you know that you can still eat healthy on a budget," the post's copy read.

It was removed from CSIRO's Twitter page after a number of users criticised it as cruel for both "fat-shaming" and poor-shaming.

The post still remains up on other social media sites, however.

Back into the van Harold goes.

The Coalition's election drubbing removed from Parliament House one of its best tennis players in Josh Frydenberg. The former treasurer enjoyed a hit even after deciding against a professional career in the sport and opting for politics instead.

As the newly-retired Roger Federer observed, though, the game is larger than any one player. The courts of Parliament House - which sit at the southeast section of the Parliamentary precinct - will apparently not fall silent without the erstwhile member for Kooyong.

If anything, they'll get noisier, at least for a time. The courts will get an upgrade, according to new tender documents, which say the current set are at the end of their life and "in poor condition".

The Department of Parliamentary Services told us it was replacing two synthetic tennis court surfaces.

"These court surfaces are now 34 years old, in poor condition and present a safety hazard. The cost will be determined through the tender process," a spokesperson said.

Synthetic grass, like governments, wears thin at Parliament House too.

On a stretch of road between Canberra and Queanbeyan sits the Navy base, HMAS Harman, sometimes informally referred to as "Mordor" - after the sparse and volcanic domain of the villain from The Lord of the Rings.

But Defence officials are hoping its "dilapidated" buildings will soon get a facelift after putting forward a $116.4 million redevelopment proposal, to make it more Rivendell-like, as it were.

According to the department's pitch, it wants to demolish the gym and a number of "aged" office buildings, replacing them with new fit-outs.

It also seeks to refurbish the on-base accommodation and expand the entry gate to include a cadet drop-off area.

The base's upgrades will be finished by early 2025, if the plans are given the green tick by a parliamentary committee.

Perhaps by then it will become a base even Lord Elrond would be happy to crash at.

Public servants need to be like diplomats and think up crafty ways to handle demanding ministers and powerful department heads.

That's the sage advice the Australian Public Service Commissioner Peter Woolcott has imparted to bureaucrats anyway.

In last week's IPAA event, the former diplomat reached far into his back pocket to remind everyone the importance of soft power.

"Soft power is actually crucial," he said. "They don't give you weapons or big sticks."

So, the next time you fantasise about un-diplomatically telling your boss how it is, remember your strongest weapon: soft power.

Former prime minister Paul Keating is not one to shy away from a public skewering but last week's tornado appearance engulfed one very senior public servant in particular.

During his tirade against the AUKUS deal, he briefly turned his ire toward Office of National Intelligence head Andrew Shearer.

Mr Keating shared with the very public audience he was "reliably informed" that the former national security adviser to the Abbott and Howard governments had "sunk the French boats" deal.

"I hope [Labor is] not listening to him," he opined of the man whose sole job is to have Labor listen to him about national security issues.

The outspoken former Labor leader said nobody in the current government had reached out to him on the subject.

"The Labor Party could have taken notice of me on this point ... I had no conversation with anybody," he said.

It seems unlikely he'll be poaching Mr Shearer's role any time soon.

Last week, we revealed Home Affairs' WofG blunder, which reminded one reader of another awkward moment.

While working in the Finance Department in the mid-2000s, she recalled the team organising the Secretary's Awards, often referred to it as the Sec's Awards.

Fine in writing, not so great said out loud.