Public Eye: Luxury scarves on Home Affairs gifts register, APSC talks and ATO tech troubles

Department officials are required to disclose gifts they have accepted in the course of official duties quarterly, and Public Eye perused the registers to find out, in our humble opinion, who got the best stuff.

By the way, officials are allowed to accept gifts or benefits but the Australian Public Service Commission says they should consider things like whether it gives rise to real or apparent conflicts of interest, whether it could cause embarrassment or offence to refuse the gift and whether it's part of an exchange of gifts between government representatives.

The registers track accepted gifts or benefits worth more than $100 AUD, and often include things like airline memberships, conferences relevant to the agency or dinners with stakeholders.

In the last update, spanning January to the end of March, an official at the Department of Home Affairs received a swish Hermes scarf, with an estimated worth of $370, from French Air Defence and Air Operations.

Another two Home Affairs officials recorded Uniqlo jackets valued at $130, received at an event hosted by the Embassy of Japan.

Meanwhile Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry secretary Andrew Metcalfe accepted four nights of accommodation at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Berlin, from Germany's Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture as part of his attendance at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture this year. The value of the accommodation was estimated at $1056.

And the Department of Industry and Resources gift register notes receipt of four vouchers to SKYCITY, two state opera tickets and a bottle of wine.

The gifts, which are valued at an estimated $655, were presented by The Advertiser, Sunday Mail and SkyCity 2023 for nomination for their "Woman of the Year Award".

A list of common discussions to be canvassed by the Australian Public Service Commission, unions and agencies has ballooned from 48 to 91 issues.

The APS-wide talks on pay and conditions are ticking along, with meetings scheduled twice a week up until July. The goal is to wrap up this round of bargaining by July 31, before the expiry of an interim arrangement at the end of August.

The APSC's chief negotiator Peter Riordan says talks are on track though. The 48 common conditions were what the commission initially wanted to discuss, while unions and individuals made additional claims after the fact, bringing the total to 91.

"These claims are being considered in good faith," Mr Riordan said in a statement.

"We are confident that we can move through the various items quickly and efficiently, and believe we are on track to finalise APS-wide bargaining by 31 July."

After that, agency-level negotiations can kick off.

The commission also made its pay offer this week: a 10.5 per cent increase over three years. It's roughly half what the Community and Public Sector Union claimed (a total of 20.5 per cent), and union members have until the end of the month to let representatives know what they think of the offer.

READ MORE:

People anxiously trying to check their HECs debts ahead of an increase to indexation on June 1 could be running into some trouble.

The Australian Taxation Office says it is aware of "a small number of people" experiencing issues accessing their online services through myGov.

Though the agency's spokesperson did not say whether the issue was linked to an influx of people trying to get access to their accounts, the ATO was notified of the issue at the end of April.

The good news is the tax office has identified the issue and is working to fix it.

"If a client is having trouble meeting their lodgment or payment obligations, they can contact us and we can work with them to provide a tailored solution," the spokesperson said.

The bad news is that indexation rates on student loans are due to increase to 7.1 per cent on June 1, up from 3.9 per cent in 2022. Those looking to voluntarily pay down some of their HECs balance before the indexation increases need to do so before June.

Ever wondered what's on the menu at a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade function? Well, it's your lucky day.

Correspondence released under a freedom of information request has lifted the lid on the contents of platters whirled about a cocktail function the department held on July 27, 2022.

On the menu: barbecue duck crepes with cucumber, parmesan baskets with goat's cream and fresh herbs, tom yum prawn rice paper rolls, crisp chicken dumplings, pea and potato samosas and smoked salmon on potato rosti horse radish, capers and dill.

The tasty treats cost the department $3030 for 125 people.

Watercooler conversations are speculating where some departments might move around the bush capital. One of those is the Infrastructure Department, which is looking to leave behind its aging office building, Infrastructure House, for some new digs.

While we first suspected it was looking to acquire an illustrious Barton address, it seems something closer to home has caught its eye.

An unexpected customer is also zoning in on the Parliamentary Triangle's West Block. Watch this space.

Controversial senator Pauline Hanson is again making headlines after she dropped a new line of knitwear on her One Nation party's website.

The firebrand conservative is auctioning off seven sweaters and cardigans, knitted by herself over "more than 60 hours", to raise funds in her legal fight against Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.

Senator Faruqi is taking her upper house colleague to court for unlawful offensive behaviour over a tweet made by Senator Hanson telling the Greens senator to "piss off back to Pakistan".

Hanson's "exclusive" and "one-of-a-kind" knitwear range are starting from $500, with one item already surpassing $1000 at the time of writing.

It's still a far cry from the $150,000 she could pay up to a charity of Senator Faruqi's choosing if she loses in court.

Still, this level of hustling during these tough economic times is commendable. Maybe a few of us - those not being sued for offensive comments - can take note.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.