[Peetwo]

Update: The 'human headline' continues to out obfuscating bureaucrats -

Oz follow up :

Defence pays PR firm $2m for lessons on how to perform well at Senate estimates

Senator Hinch quizzes the DFAT panel about media training. 4:15


Senator Hinch quizzes the DFAT panel about media training during senate estimates.

• May 31st 2017
  
• 38 minutes ago
  
• /video/video.news.com.au/News/
  

[img=0x0]https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/news/content/v2/origin:video_integrator.lnZGZlYjE6rhwdd-r_vzc3j7KIgRNryr?t_product=video&t_template=../video/player[/img]

• Rory Callinan
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:43PM May 31, 2017
  

At least four Foreign Affairs bureaucrats have outed themselves as having received controversial taxpayer-funded training in how to handle senate estimates questions after they had to raise their hands in a hearing to confirm if they had attended the courses.

The bureaucrats’ special schooling was revealed after Senator Derryn Hinch followed up revelations in The Australian about the Defence Department having paid just over $2 million to a public relations firm that offers acting lessons for public servants fronting estimates hearings.

Senator Hinch who had expressed concerns about the Defence expenditure asked this morning for anyone in the room in the Foreign Affairs Estimates Committee hearing to confirm if they had received the training.

In a show of hands at least four bureaucrats including Foreign Affairs Secretary Frances Adamson and First Assistant Secretary Richard Sadlier confirmed receipt of the training.

Ms Adamson said in the 2016 to 2017 financial year the Department had paid a company run by former television reporter Laurie Wilson and Associates $28,740 to ensure that “our staff are familiar with estimates rules”.

The admission prompted Senator Hinch to remark: “Oh a nice little lurk”.

Earlier Senator Hinch said: “I thought estimates committee hearings were to find out with a lot of transparency, how taxpayers money was being spent and now I find out that $2 million had been spent by the Defence Department to show how you don’t have to answer questions.”

Ms Adamson said that DFAT’s training was “much tamer than that” referred to with respect to Defence.

She said her department was as “keen as we can to be helpful to the members of the committee”.

Senator Derryn Hinch quizzes DFAT officials about media training for their appearance at Senate estimates this morning.

Defence’s $2.1m training bill

Senator Hinch was following up revelations published in The Australian that the Defence Department had paid about $2.1 million to Victorian company Media Manoeuvres which offers special acting lessons for bureaucrats so they can perform well at Senate estimates hearings.

The company had even featured a testimonial purportedly from a top-level bureaucrat in the Defence’s Maritime Systems Division, promoting the training on its website as “a must for all involved in Senate estimates process”.

The bureaucrat was not named but is described as the “chief of staff” for Defence’s Maritime Systems Division. Following questions from The Australian yesterday the testimonial was removed from the Media Manoeuvres website.

The Maritime Systems Division oversees navy and army maritime capability, including the amphibious ships that have been at the centre of major controversy over defective propulsion problems that have taken both vessels out of action for months.

Earlier this week in estimates, Defence bureaucrats were required to field questions about problems with the ships, HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide, which cost $1.5 billion each.

Since 2004, Media Manoeuvres has received a regular stream of the Defence contracts totalling just more than $2.1 million. The latest contract was to run from October last year to March 28 and was worth $29,647, according to the government tenders website.

The company says its senate estimates course includes theory, performance skills for answering questions, simulations and role-plays, comprehensive playback, trainer review and analysis, individual written reports and a digital download of performances.

A Defence spokesman said some Defence personnel undertook media training to support them in their engagements from time to time with media, and in their appearances at public ­forums. Training is provided through another department.

Expenditure detailed on the government tenders website shows Defence listed the contracts mostly as “media awareness training”. The spending ranged from $1.03 million in April 2012 to $10,842 in November the same year.

Two other government entities — the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority — were listed in the tenders website as having contracts with Media Manoeuvres.

The Media Manoeuvres’ website had prominently featured the testimony advertising the estimates training.

“The balance of practical and theory was good and the feedback was valuable. This course is a must for all who are involved in the senate estimates process,’’ said the undated testimonial from the Defence staffer.

Efforts to contact the staffer were unsuccessful and Defence said the testimonial had been put up on the website some years earlier.

Media Manoeuvres is directed by former Crown Casino public relations manager Sam Elam, whose articles are promoted on the company website, including such titles as “Off the Record”, “What does it really Mean” and “Declining media requests — How to minimise the damage”.

A Defence spokesman late yesterday said: “As part of any training, participants, including Defence members, may be asked to give feedback to the relevant training provider,” he said.

“Defence policy is that any inference or implication that Defence itself is making an endorsement of the company must be avoided or mitigated.”

Efforts to contact Ms Elam were unsuccessful.

MTF...P2