By Rebecca Wright
Parliament's security guards have been told to keep a lower profile, because their bosses don't want to give the impression that there are too many guards, doing too little.
It comes in the wake of a security review, but looks more like a plan to preserve jobs, as hundreds of other public servants lose theirs to government razor gangs.
A confidential memo leaked to 3 News shows security guards are being forced to hide in a back office because having uniformed officers standing around "wasn't a good look".
While the Beehive cleaners were protesting for better pay outside Parliament today, inside security staff were staging a secret protest of their own. The battlefield? The Beehive's main security entrance.
A leaked internal memo from Parliamentary bosses reads: "It was suggested to security management that the combined entranceway could operate with just one senior security officer and one security officer. Naturally, security management disagreed."
So naturally, management came up with a cunning plan to cling on to staff. Normally three security officers patrol the entrance to the Beehive, but after a complaint that guards were milling around, a new directive was issued, saying: "When there are no persons who require screening, both senior security officers are to retire to the combined entranceway office. The security officer must not stand by the combined entranceway office door and talk to the two guards inside."
3 News today filmed security staff following this order. Effectively, two senior security officers were hiding away in the back office, just metres from where they used to patrol.
General manager of Parliamentary services Geoff Thorne initially told 3 News it was about efficiency - he then changed his argument.
"I don't make anyone sit in a backroom. I didn't write that memo. I will take a look at it."
But security sources say the directive did come from the top.
The union representing the guards says the whole thing reeks of paranoia.
"It's purely cosmetic," says Richard Wagstaff of the Public Service Association. "It doesn't improve efficiency or save on costs. It's typical, politicians worried about perceptions."
The memo also goes further suggesting the guards make use of their newfound freedom in the back office and study on the taxpayer. It suggests: "I invite you to discuss the merits of this new initiative... and utilise this extra time to complete your Certificate In Security Level 3 unit standards."
A number of security guards privately spoke with 3 News today and told us the changes undermine security and make it easier for bad guys to breach Parliament's security.
3 News