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THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD make more of an effort to provide all public information in plain English, according to the National Adult Literacy Agency.
NALA said that a recent survey it conducted found that 95% of respondents approve of such a move, noting that almost half (48%) find official documents, including information from the Government, difficult to understand.
Respondents also said that they sometimes find jargon, terms and conditions, and financial information challenging.
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The NALA petition had been signed by over 550 people at the time of publication. The organisation is hoping to reach 5,000 signatures.
The document calls for public information such as letters, forms and information leaflets to be written in 'plain English'. This means:
Here's an example of a standard hire purchase contract term before and after its content has been changed into 'plain English':
Before: Title to property in the goods shall remain vested in the Company (notwithstanding the delivery of the same to the Customer) until the price of the Goods comprised in the contract and all other money due from the Customer to the Company on any other account has been paid in full.
After:We will own the goods until you have finished paying for them.
NALA Director, Inez Bailey, said that "both citizens and governments benefit from clear information, written in plain English".
"Citizens are more likely to understand their rights and governments are more likely to make better use of their resources.
Using plain English can also save the public sector time, money and possible frustration by having to take repeated requests for information.
Last year Britain’s civil servants were banned from using certain jargon, such as: 'slimming down'; 'foster' and 'deploy'.
Climate change. Any bad weather is a direct result of global warming / climate change
@Christopher Byrne: Was It global warming that caused the flooding over a century ago or was it just a freak storm?
@Slippy ❤️: sarcasm mate…sarcasam. I live in Perth and we’ve has the coldest winter in the 6+ years I’ve lived here but Ive no doubt it will be reported as the hottest on record
@Christopher Byrne: higher average global temperatures result in more moisture in the atmosphere which makes storm systems powerful. So yes the strength of this storm was added today b the fact that GLOBAL temperatures are rising. Weather is a global system, it doesn’t care if it’s been cold in Australia lately. Some models suggest that Europe might actually get colder over the coming decades as a result of GLOBAL average temperatures rising if it continues.
@M: Yes, climate models. Very reliable they’ve proven to be….We can’t predict weather reliably 2 weeks in advance but we’re supposed to believe in these models forecasting 30 years down the track as gospel. Despite the fact most if not all of them have failed to accurately predict the future
@Christopher Byrne:
I think you’ve been living in the colonies for too long….mate.
@Tweed Cap: wow I don’t know how to even begin talking to you when you say something as clueless as that . climate is not the same thing as weather. Are you saying that releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere will not cause global temperatures to rise? …Why not?
@Christopher Byrne: don’t stray too far from home you’ll fall off the edge of the earth
@Christopher Byrne: I love listening to people who have read some articles and now know it all. Just proves studying and practicing science is a waste of time, we just need an opion
@Christopher Byrne: isn’t winter 2 months away yet? Also weren’t there record highs recorded in summer in parts of Oz? Also, true or false, don’t parts of Oz have a monsoon season and isn’t this just an extreme version of that?
@Dave O Keeffe: No, on all counts
@Boganity: I think you’ll find you’re incorrect on all points. Australian winter is our summer months. They had record temperatures over Christmas, and there is indeed a monsoon season in parts of Australia.
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