Little thanks for preschool educator efforts on mid-year intake

Ten chocolate frogs and a note invoking Paul Kelly was all the thanks our preschool educators got for their hard work making the mid-year preschool intake program happen.

About 4000 children started preschool this week at 377 public preschools across South Australia as part of the Malinauskas Government’s mid-year preschool intake program.

Though the program has been welcomed by kindergarten educators, one industry source told InSider that the program was rushed and that staff bore the brunt in terms of communicating the changing logistics.

Preschools received one bag of Haigh’s chocolate frogs and a short note this week for their hard work – pittance according to the preschool educator who said the process led to “sleepless nights” and “stress”.

“You’re constantly having to apologise to families,” they said.

“Not being the decision makers but having to be the one to tell everybody… there’s been a lot of that. I think that comes from rushing the process and not having that time to think about your communication processes.

“And then you get the chocolates which just feels too little too late.”

The note quotes Paul Kelly’s classic ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’ – strangely timed considering the song’s importance to Indigenous rights during the ongoing Voice to Parliament campaign.

The note preschools received for their work on the mid-year preschool intake program.

InSider reckons there’s better ways to thank those educating our little ones; higher pay would certainly go further than a quick sugar rush.

A Nightmare on Pitt Street

Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith’s long-stated mission to restore credibility to city council wasn’t helped by another infrastructure horror movie that played out in Town Hall this week.

Despite warnings from council bureaucrats about growing impatience from the state government, city councillors on Tuesday backed what could be yet another delay to the $1.92m upgrade of Pitt Street – the two-way laneway that separates Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Hotel Metropolitan.

Pitt St, running between Franklin and Grote St, has been earmarked for an upgrade since 2016. Photo: InDaily

Pitt Street is the last missing link of the $14.6m “Market to Riverbank” project announced by the former Weatherill Government in 2016. It was originally meant to be completed in 2019.

The other laneways in the project – Bank Street, Leigh Street, Topham Mall and Bentham Street – have all been upgraded, but an inscrutable mix of stakeholder concerns and car park complaints has left the council paralysed as to whether it wants Pitt Street to be a one-way or two-way laneway for cars.

Three proposals for the $1.92m upgrade have been floated since 2017, with council going through two rounds of formal consultation.

The narrow two-way entry to Pitt St off Grote St. Photo: InDaily

On Tuesday, council administration pitched a narrow two-way Pitt Street design to councillors – revised from a one-way concept it presented in 2022 – only to be accused by councillor Keiran Snape of designing something that “does not, quite simply, meet community standards”.

“We’ve been given $1.8m or whatever it is, and we’ve basically pissed it up against the wall to do, okay, slightly nicer tiles I’m sure, slightly nicer looking street I’m sure,” Snape said.

“But it will be in effect exactly the same street we have now but with a few more trees.”

Tom McCready, the council’s director, city services, defended the greening work in the new design, responding: “I’d just like to correct the councillor’s comments.”

The latest two-way concept designs presented to councillors on Tuesday. Image: Adelaide City Council

“First of all, the footpath has substantially increased… I think from the concepts that were presented and what we’re actually presenting if you were to go down onto that street you would see it actually goes well into the parking bays and beyond,” he said.

“So, there’s a substantial increase with a greening outcome, with a paved solution, with trees, and (it) effectively deals with most of the issues.”

Council has already gone out to tender on the two-way Pitt Street concept and hoped to have it completed by June 2024, pending approval from the council chamber in August.

The latest two-way Pitt St concept designs presented to councillors on Tuesday (looking south from Franklin St). Image: Adelaide City Council

But councillor Henry Davis asked the administration to bring back a report with “more detailed reasoning” about the options and stakeholder concerns about the project.

“I know it’s been seven years, so maybe another month wouldn’t hurt,” Davis said.

Davis’ suggestion was supported by other councillors in a motion adopted at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

McCready warned that if council resolved not to proceed with the two-way design it would have to restart the tender process and talk to Renewal SA, the council’s funding partner, who “have been pushing us in regards to this”.

“Effectively we would have to go back out to design because we haven’t gone to market with a one-way design, so we would have to go out to market, assess the tender process, the costing, and potentially look to see if there are cost impacts which may or may not push out that timeline beyond the June 30^th 2024.”

The whole episode left the Lord Mayor a bit perturbed.

“Can I just say, I just don’t know where we’re going with this,” Lomax-Smith said.

“This started when Martin Haese was Lord Mayor, let’s get this into perspective, seven years ago.

“It’s one small street upgrade, it’s gone out to tender, a solution has been found with which nobody is happy, which is relatively fair.

“The real issue for me is the council’s reputation is one where we kick things into the long grass, we prevaricate, we reverse decisions, and I just remind you: seven years.

“And every year currently there’s a 30 per cent cost escalation.

“I’m happy to delay this, I’m happy to stop it, I’m happy to reverse it, but when we get to eight years, we’ll probably get a couple of planter boxes for our money and we won’t get a street upgrade – is that what we really want?”

What would Freud do?

Amid all the bluster and blowback about some white-collar workers and public servants working from home – with one nuanced headline yelling: “Get off your lazy arse and go to the office” – one local is swimming against the tide.

Award-winning ‘Tiser journalist Michael McGuire wrote a column this week defending those who work from home, either part or full-time, saving hours of commuting by doing so.

Why? He does it himself. (as does Uncle Rupert)

Michael tells us he’s in the office some days and at home on others. He appreciates the flexibility. He’s still productive, perhaps more so. He cranks up Melbourne band Amyl and the Sniffers when he needs a late arvo burst of energy – for which we applaud him, and suggest he add some Civic or Stiff Richards to the mix.

McGuire also assessed some of WFH’s “vociferous critics”, saying that in psychology the term “projection” describes someone attributing a negative quality to others that is actually their own.

“They splutter and moan about people bludging in their pyjamas or organising home renovations or spending all day surfing the web and watching YouTube while the boss isn’t looking,” he wrote.

“Let’s face it. They are talking about themselves. Exposing their own work ethic. Deep down they know they are lazy bastards, so assume the rest of us must be as well.”

There’s a water cooler conversation right there.

Right royal stoush

Adelaide-born and bred Peter Flavel has resigned as the chief executive of the King’s bank Coutts in the fallout from a blue-blooded battle between the bank and Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage.

Peter Flavel. Photo: AAP

The bank has serviced the royal family and all the hangers on for 300 odd years, but got in trouble recently when their dossier on Farage revealed “deeply inappropriate comments” had been made to try and exit him from the bank.

Flavel issued a statement stating the bank had “fallen below the bank’s high standards of personal service” in the handling of Farage‘s case.

“As CEO of Coutts it is right that I bear ultimate responsibility for this, which is why I am stepping down,” the statement read.

British media estimates Flavel was on a salary of around $1.8 million, and he follows the bank’s group NatWest chief executive Alison Rose out the door.

In the pink

There’s no hiding from it. The colour pink has brightened up a gloomy Adelaide winter thanks to the Barbie movie marketing tsunami. But InSider, being a media stickler for standards, is pleased to report that Pantone – the keeper of all things colour – has released Barbie Pink as Pantone 219C. Nothing else will do.

Barbie Pink, Pantone 219C is an exultant and empowering color. Glamorous and unafraid, the spirited and bubbly appearance totally meets the moment, fulfilling our desire for unabashed personal expression and our pent up desire to just have some fun.#Pantone #Barbie pic.twitter.com/dhMod142XJ

— PANTONE (@pantone) July 24, 2023

Stuff you should know…

Urologist Dr Chris Love is warning about the long-term impact of vaping and has called for further research on vaping and erectile dysfunction (ED).

The aptly named Dr Love, said early research from the United States has linked nicotine vapes and ED.

The only thing going up. Photo: Unsplash

“The research shows someone who vapes twice daily had twice the chance of developing erectile dysfunction compared to someone who doesn’t vape,” Dr Love said.

Up to 30 percent of men in their 30s and 40 percent of men in their 40s have experienced some form of ED issue.

“Erectile dysfunction is a vascular condition, just like heart disease, so if something is bad for the heart, it’s going to be bad for erections too,” Dr Love said.

Dr Love said in his press release that an effective quit campaign warning would be ‘if you smoke, your penis won’t work’.