Both sides of politics ensured that the appointment and promotion policies of state and federal services were made 'flexible' enough to provide homes for loyal advisors.

@Shadow Minister: Has anyone else posting here actually worked a 100hr week for an extended period? I would bet that all the labor supporters here don't have a clue.

I bet ya wrong. People working really long hours tend to come from two groups. One is business owners, which may well be non-labour. The other is professionals - doctors, engineers, lawyers and the like. Professionals cover all points on the political compass.

Both groups are self motived and drive themselves pretty hard. There is a third group who are also self motivated and put in unbelievable hours, but it depends on how you define work. They are mothers with several young children.

But your central point stands. A 60% turnover rate is very high, particularly in salaried staff. It is a worry, mostly because I doubt it is just the long work hours.

I suspect that as rstuart already wrote that there is much more to this than long hours.

Ministerial staffers have always worked long hours this is nothing new.

It is sad that the rhetoric about work-life balance, healthy and flexible workplaces, ensuring adequate resources to get the job done without risk or OH&S concerns, and IR spin about fair workplaces is not matched in practice.

Surely the PM's office should be funded to ensure that whoever is PM is adequately resourced to be able to get the job done properly. Anything less is bad for workers and bad for the Australian people.

The same for public service programs which we have already seen the disastrous results of lack of planning and personnel.

Clearly what I said went straight over everyone's heads.

Considering the majority work about 40 hrs/week, 60 hrs is 12hrs/day 5 days a week. 100hrs/ week is 14 hrs / day 7 days a week.

Considering that most people sleep 7 hrs a day, this leaves no time for any thing but work.

Foxy, I really doubt that either you or your husband work 100 hrs weeks for extended periods.

Once someone has started in the job it is difficult because of the "opportunity" to walk away, in spite of this there is nearly a 60% turnover, which goes to show what a turgid place it is to work.

Irrespective of what the employees signed up for this is sheer incompetence in management. If the average experience of the staff is less than a year, the constant stuff ups that Labor provides is no surprise.

Life must be hard for Ministerial Staff... well between, coffee, the paper, The footy, what's on TV, who's screwing who, & (for the women)running down the other female staff, they would have to work out how to say in 3 pages what could be said in two lines. Make up excuses for the Minister not knowing what's going on. How to keep it from the Minister then taking the blame for the Ministers stuff ups.
I suppose it's like war. lots of time sitting around doing nothing, then all hell breakes loose for a day or two, then back to doing nothing. If they can't handle the heat then they should get out of the fire.
& they get great pay, prestige & perks for that.

SM you jest, never had a job I did not give my best effort to.
And just wish I could convince one bloke how much effort and time I do put in.
RDO today, well except the 6 hours on phone and short dash to return to work, no one around and it had to be done.
Every week, no exceptions, a 4am or even 3 start to get to a pre work start meeting maybe 3 hours away.
Wednesday, 4am left home, all day in Sydney drive home arrive 8.30 pm.
Out and gone early next day.
Once spent 20 hours a day in large trucks sleeping in them driving in them every day.
your view about labor voters is wrong and silly too.
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS work 12 hours six days and can be 7 and even more hours each day.
I am in my office ,car average of 9 hours each day and have not had a weekend free of work in 8 years, home life has to run second to my phone with me even in bed.