Perk rubbed some the wrong way

Australia has banned taxpayer-funded massages for some pampered bureaucrats as part of an austerity drive, Assistant Treasurer Chris Bowen said.

Bowen’s Labor Party, which was elected to government Nov. 24, has long railed against the free massages. The most recent figures produced in Parliament showed that bureaucrats spent $95,451 in public money on rubdowns in 2004.

“There are lots of very hard working people . . . working 12-hour shifts in factories as well who would love a back rub at the end of the day, I am sure. But they don’t get one,” he said.