Three contractors bid on repair to the fence at Parliament house. One is from Adelaide, another is from Sydney, and the third is from Brisbane. All three go with a parliamentary official to examine the fence.
The Adelaide contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil. "Well" he says "I figure the job will run about $9,000. That's $4,000 for materials, $4,000 for my crew and $1,000 profit for me".
The Sydney contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says "I can do this job for $7,000. That's $3,000 for materials, $3,000 for my crew and $1,000 profit for me".
The Brisbane contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the official and whispers "$27,000".
The official, incredulous, says "You didn't even measure like the other guys!! How did you come up with such a high figure??"
The Brisbane contractor whispers back "$10,000 for me, $10,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Sydney to fix the fence!"
"Done!" replies the government official.
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