As the state government moves to slash non-essential public service jobs, unions have attacked the latest state budget as a “fantasy document” built on cuts and privatisation.
Treasurer Guy Barnett yesterday outlined budget reforms that will see every government program and service reviewed for potential savings.
The budget aims to deliver $150 million in yearly savings across the public service, with around 2,500 public sector jobs on the line as agencies decide which roles are essential.
Barnett said the Efficiency and Productivity Unit (EPU) will assess the future of each role.
“Is it fit for purpose? Is it still necessary? Could it be changed? Could technology be able to be used to make it more efficient and more productive?” he said on Friday.
But the Community and Public Sector Union believes the government is out of touch. General Secretary Thirza White said people and services should be the focus – not the target.
“The idea that roles can be replaced by technology is farcical, when many agencies are paper-based and have been starved of the necessary investment to modernise and digitise,” she said.
“Cutting budgets is not simply a fiscal issue, it’s a values issue. It tells Tasmanians that their health, education, safety and our environment are not priorities.”
Barnett acknowledged he could bring the budget back to surplus sooner than the current five-year forecast.
“I could deliver a surplus next year, a slash-and-burn budget,” he said. “But frankly I’m not going to do that.”
“We will have a pathway which focuses on the things that matter for Tasmanians like health, like housing, like education and cost of living and so we are having a measured sensible approach.”
Shadow Treasurer Josh Willie wasn’t convinced, saying the budget shows there is “no plan” to rein in “spiralling debt”.
“We’re now nearly at $11 billion and it’s actually probably worse than that because they’re not being honest with the figures in the budget,” Willie said.
“The only way the out-of-control debt stops is if there is a cash surplus and that is in the cash flow statement, there is no cash surplus. There’s no pathway to a cash surplus.”
More details about the EPU are expected to be released in the “coming weeks”.
