I am surprised that there is surprise about the individual in this article 'only being a level five'. Anyone who has spent even an afternoon in a government agency knows that 5s and 6s do ALL the work, and, once someone joins the 'executive' club, their days are consumed by busy-work and backside-covering. That is to say, they do ABSOLUTELY nothing of benefit to the public only themselves, their careers, their work-life balance, and their superannuation. It's like receiving extra privileges for a prison inmate who has kept their nose clean and served out the majority of their sentence.