Social media ban: government staffers ordered to keep opinions to themselves

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/10/social-media-ban-government-staffers

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Federal government staffers have been told not to post their personal views about the government or ministers on websites and social media.

The Statement of Standards for Ministerial Staff was updated in September last year, weeks after the Coalition took government, to add a paragraph about online commentary including sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

“Other than in the course of their professional duties, [staff should] not post personal online commentary or other material or publish books or articles expressing personal views which relate to either their minister’s portfolio area or the general work of the Australian government,” the added statement says.

A spokeswoman for the prime minister, Tony Abbott, said staffers had been discouraged from engaging in online commentary when the Coalition was in opposition and the statement of standards was just formalising the rule, as well as modernising the actual document.

Under the Members of Parliament (Staff) Act, staffers are not allowed to defame, harass or bully using work computers or phones and under Julia Gillard in September 2012 staff did not have a specific code of conduct but had a general code that said “treat with respect and courtesy all those with whom they have contact in the course of their employment”.