We can’t remember the last time we gushed over a bureaucrat. But it was a long, long time ago.
Most of the time we in the media are like the proverbial dog chasing a car - we run as fast as we can, we bark a lot, but the truth of the matter is that we only sink our teeth in a tire once-in-a-while. When we ask direct questions of bureaucrats – if we can get them on the phone – they’re usually quick to say they can’t comment, or what we want is in some report somewhere that we’ll have to file paperwork (Freedom of Information requests) to get. And once we file those requests, it becomes a shell game of trying to avoid giving us the information we’re looking for. The bureaucrats, we understand, are usually just protecting the politicians who are usually just trying to avoid nasty headlines. We get all that. But the problem is that soon the shell game becomes the de facto way of dealing with all requests for information. Stalling becomes normal practice. And what could be a simple matter of informing the public becomes a test of wills and patience. And a huge waste of time - both of ours and the public servants who are being paid by the taxpayers.
And then someone just tells us, frankly and without trying to muddy up the waters, what happened.
And he says he made a mistake. And then he says he would do it again, because, brace yourselves, it was the right thing to do.
Yup. It happened. And we’re going to mark it on our calendar and call it ‘John Gaiptman Day.’ The day will honour bureaucrats who cut to the chase and speak plainly. Those who choose not to play hide-and-seek with the media.
Of course, cynics might say "What has John Gaiptman got to lose? After all he’s at the end of his career and he’s already handed in his notice. It’s not as if they’re going to fire the guy." But the reality is that Gaiptman has always given us the straight goods, and, we believe, he would no matter what the situation is.
We’ve dealt with a lot of near-retirement bureaucrats and those who have spent their careers managing to walk that thin line of pleasing politicians and avoiding media messes. There’s a lot of good people in tough jobs trying not to get ulcers and just go quietly towards that golden pension. We get that, and that’s why John Gaiptman is exceptional.
