Public Eye: Barton's insulated lunch bags, teal blouses and public servants in Teslas

That's according to a trivia session run by the APSC last week.

And increasingly, the average public servant is striding into work, clutching an insulated lunch bag.

The bags, often decorative and made for display, are a breakout trend across Canberra's government agencies.

And we couldn't help but wonder, is it fashion? The rising cost of living? Peer pressure?

Staff at the Attorney-General's Department appear to have been early and enthusiastic adopters, with floors (and fridges) being overtaken by a sea of bright, quirky patterns.

One lunch bag owner cringed admitting they own one but felt like a pariah without one.

Many a lunch bag can be spotted at National Circuit on a Monday morning.

It's still kindling at the environment department, where about one-quarter of people are using them.

Defence staff are in an even 50/50 split on the issue, with those still left clutching their Tupperware described as "rogue" by one lunchbag-carrying source. But it's not designer cooler bags for all.

Staff at 50 Marcus Clarke Street, where the Education and Employment departments reside, are still firmly sticking to what they know best.

One source believes one or two have been spotted on their floor but the fridge is still filled with unsightly plastic containers.

Over in Woden, a handful have been spotted at the National Indigenous Australian Agency, too.

For one Infrastructure Department worker, lunch is the kids' leftovers in a Woolies bag.

In a world where an almond croissant sets you back $8, who can afford to buy lunch?

While the Labor government is desperately trying to put contracting in the 2023 "out" pile, it's fighting a bureaucracy that's gotten quite used to having it "in".

The Australian Taxation Office is one of those looking to outsource an upcoming job.

The job in question is about ensuring the tax office's performance system gives "greater guidance" for discussions and enables "a greater appreciation of how staff and managers work together".

"We need our senior leaders to create and maintain environments that enable staff to perform at their best," an internal briefing note said.

To do this, ATO's HR unit, ATO People, will engage an outside supplier to survey a third of the workforce and will deliver the report around the middle of the year.

So, if you've got a problem, fear not, ATO People's people will talk to your people.

The Australian Electoral Commission is in overdrive trying to find 100,000 temporary workers ahead of a referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

With the vote to be held between October and December this year, the commission has been firing off emails to those who had previously registered interest in working during an electoral event, encouraging them to update their details.

They also plan to overhaul their payroll ahead of the referendum, with the current system "overly dependent on bespoke applications and vendor support", according to an approach to market. The new system needs to ensure temporary workers are paid in a timely manner for their work.

One of the beautiful things about democracy is transparency. For federal public officials, that means disclosing all the gifts they receive and any liabilities.

And it can certainly be mundane, from Nationals MP Keith Pitt's membership at Brisbane's Tattersall's Club to the free tickets Labor MP Graham Perrett received for an Ed Sheeran concert with his son.

Thankfully, independent Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel has delivered one of the more notable updates for some time.

Her updated register of members' interests shows she's received a teal blouse, an anti-fire smoke mask, a few books and some coffee cups.

Former senator, and self-described "transparency warrior", Rex Patrick has also offered his FOI services free of charge to the former ABC journalist.

Kooyong MP Monique Ryan's latest update also shows Mr Patrick's been in her ear too over prying information from the government.

As I'm sure Mr Patrick has whispered plenty of times - thank god (or good governance) for transparency.

Everybody wants to be paid well, but beyond that, wishlists vary across the ranks for public servants.

Those at APS1 level are most concerned about their hours of work, according to polling from the APSC.

The next cohort are preoccupied with career progression, while those at APS4, APS5 and APS6 levels thought flex time and time off in lieu mattered the most.

Their bosses meanwhile, at the EL1 and EL2 levels, responded that superannuation was their top ticket item.

The public service commission surveyed about 49,000 people, approximately 30 per cent of all APS employees, ahead of long awaited APS-wide pay and condition bargaining.

The talks are set to begin by the end of March, and it's hoped that they will smooth out discrepancies in pay and conditions between government agencies, before turning to look at conditions within the individual agencies.

The first of 305 battery electric vehicles to be driven by public servants arrived in Canberra in February.

More of the low-emissions vehicles will arrive in the coming months, with models to include Hyundai Kona, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Kia Niro, Nissan Leaf, Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y.

The government wants 75 per cent of its passenger vehicle purchases and leases to be low emissions by 2025, and received $15.9 million last year to make that happen.

The cars will be on three-year leases and need to be resold after that time to increase the number of second-hand electric vehicles in Australia.

If Elon Musk's Twitter venture crumbles before then, at least he'll have a steady stream of Australian government income.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct details about Keith Pitt's membership at the Tattersall's Club.