Deputy Premier Guy Barnett has rejected union claims that the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) has been directed to cut almost a third of its staff, but would not say what the museum has been asked to cut.
“The advice I have, that’s wrong, it’s false,” he said.
Asked what TMAG had been directed to cut, Barnett did not give a figure, saying efficiencies were needed across government and that many public servants had already come forward voluntarily for redundancy.
According to the Community and Public Sector Union, staff were reportedly told at an online meeting last week that 19.7 full-time-equivalent positions would go by the end of the financial year.
That figure accounts for around 30% of TMAG’s workforce. The exact size of TMAG’s workforce is not public, but it is understood to be between 50 and 75 people.
A government spokesperson said TMAG “is not required to reduce its workforce by 30%”.
The claim came up in question time on Tuesday, when Labor MP Meg Brown asked Arts Minister Roger Jaensch how many jobs would go.
“Staff are saying one thing and your government is saying another,” Brown said.
“What is actually going on at TMAG and exactly how many jobs will be cut by the end of this financial year?”
Jaensch did not give a number.
He said TMAG was covered by the savings and staffing targets set for Building Tasmania, but that this “does not necessarily translate to an automatic cut of 19 TMAG positions at all”.
Asked again how many staff would remain, he said there was no direct formula to work out TMAG’s share as a set number of jobs.
Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said Jaensch had not made clear how many jobs would go.
“He stands up in Parliament and he can’t tell us. He’s saying it’s not the number of workers that they’ve been told, but he won’t tell us how many will be cut then,” she said.
Lovell said the Treasurer’s budget cuts were having a real impact on jobs, culture and heritage and on how collections are managed.
The reported cuts come following the government’s abolishment of the now-former Department of State Growth, folding its work into Building Tasmania – a change that will cost about 250 jobs.
As part of those changes, TMAG will move to a new tourism, events and creative entity within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
The changes are part of a wider round of public service cuts as the government works to reduce state debt, which topped $6 billion this year.
Treasurer Eric Abetz is aiming for about 1,800 job cuts by 2032.
