Public service bosses have been told to hand in proposals to slash staff numbers by as much as 10 per cent, as the Andrews government gears up for a horror budget that it insists is needed to keep the state’s finances on track.
Department of Treasury and Finance secretary David Martine has written to the heads of government departments ordering them to detail plans to cut their budgets by 10 per cent without harming “front-line services” – a move that could mean more than 5000 public servants lose their jobs.
In 2012 state Treasurer Tim Pallas criticised the former Baillieu government for its public service cuts.Credit:Jason South
As revealed in The Age last week, the push to pare back Victoria’s public service before the May 23 state budget comes as the government struggles to offset a multibillion-dollar financial hit linked to rising interest rates, with the state’s net debt topping $100 billion for the first time at the end of 2022.
Senior government sources, unable to speak publicly about budget deliberations, confirmed departments had been asked to hand in proposals for job cuts, although they are not locked in.
The deep cuts are reminiscent of the 2012 decision by the former Baillieu government to slash the number of public servants – initially by 3600, but then by 4200 – in a bid to shore up the budget bottom line.
At the time, the Coalition government insisted the cuts would not affect front-line staff such as police, teachers and child protection workers – a message that was ridiculed by Labor in opposition.
In June 2012, Tim Pallas, who was then Labor’s industrial relations spokesman and is now the state treasurer, said: “Carving this many jobs from departments will have a massive impact on the delivery of key services.”
The new departmental proposals are expected to be summarised in a single document before being sent to the Andrews government’s budget razor gang – the expenditure review committee – for consideration before the budget.
The Community and Public Sector Union’s Victorian secretary Karen Batt said the government was being secretive and disingenuous for suggesting front-line services would not be affected.
“We are talking between [5000] and 6000 jobs – ordinary Victorians working for the state government, [and] to turn around and say that they can be expended as a commodity is outrageous,” Batt said on Wednesday.
Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui
“These people are delivering services to an extra 1.5 million Victorians who have come into the state since last time we had cuts of this size, which was under Baillieu. We cannot sustain the delivery of services with cuts to public service of this nature.”
Last week, Premier Daniel Andrews warned the state budget would involve “very difficult” decisions to stop Victoria’s “extraordinary” debt levels from hampering the “next big wave of reform”.
Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson said no decisions had been made, but if the public service could be managed more efficiently it was a good thing.
“I believe in efficient delivery of government services,” he said. “If there are things where we can do things better, and we can be more efficient … I would say that’s a good thing because then we can allocate resources to higher priorities.”
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