Mr KIELY - 2001-11-29
There has been criticism in the past about ministerial expenditure. What is this government’s attitude to the ministerial officers’ budget, including expenditure last year and this financial year? What is this government’s attitude to termination payments for ministerial staff, and have changes been made in this area?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It goes to the heart of what I was speaking about in the previous question, and that is about greater efficiencies and savings from government. If you look at this particular area, the ministerial officers’ budget, it simply has been a disgrace. It simply has been a disgrace.
To put it in some context, members might not be aware that the ministerial officers program within the Department of the Chief Minister provides funding for ministers and for the Leader of the Opposition, and that is for operating costs. If you look at Budget Paper No. 2, it is a large part of the government business support output. So, it is a significantly large part of it. This government has demonstrated that we are going to be lean and mean and we are not going to be spending on ourselves. That is why the ministers were reduced from nine to seven. We had the plea, the pathetic plea, last night from the now Deputy Opposition Leader saying: ‘I will forgive you if you want to put more ministers on. I do not think your ministers can do it’. Ministers in other parts of the country can do it, and ministers in this parliament, in this new government, can do it as well.
Let us look at what it has cost over the last little while in terms of that ministerial officers’ budget. The overall cost ...
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: The overall cost - Yes, there was a change of government ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Let the Chief Minister answer.
Ms MARTIN: The overall cost of terminating previous government ministerial ...
Mr Burke interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, let us hear the Chief Minister’s answer.
Ms MARTIN: The overall cost of terminating the previous government’s ministerial staff and ministerial consultants was $1.1m - the cost of termination. You have to ask why? An extraordinarily large figure, an absolutely extraordinarily large figure. Of this total of $1.1m on ministerial staff, staff on executive contract received over $400 000. To terminate those staff on executive contract, they received over $400 000. Now, a cute little arrangement had been made with these executive contracts. They had very, very generous termination payments of up to six months pay. You are on an executive contract and what do you get? You work in a political office and, regardless of how long you had been there, you could get a termination payment that covered six months pay.
When this new government came in we stopped it. We stopped that, it was over-generous. It was ridiculously over-generous and it was inequitable. All ministerial staff employed by this government are now entitled to two weeks salary for every year of service, and that is reasonable. The $1.1m to deal with your staff - $1.1m. This change will potentially save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a fair and reasonable government. You can see the types of contracts that were offered from the previous administration and the overly-generous termination arrangements. Overly-generous - $1.1m.
Turning to the overall issue of ministerial officers’ expenditure, it is very interesting to note that expenditure in 2000-01 financial year was nearly $750 000 more than was budgeted for. ‘So don’t worry about the budget’, says the previous government ‘We can just blow it by $750 000 more than was budgeted for the 2001-02 year’.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: You blew the budget.
We are demonstrating how serious we are. We will reduce the level of ministerial office expenditure, and that includes the $796 000 of over-expenditure last year - so it is over $0.75m, $796 000 over-expenditure last year. We have saved $2m, as we have outlined, in the level of ministerial office’s expenditure. Compared to last year, we will save $3.1m. When it comes down to it, you put the cards on the table. We have demonstrated, and we will fulfil this, that we will save $3m. In spite of that, and even given this government’s commitment to a $3m saving in ministerial expenses compared to last year, this government is committed to the revised 2001-02 ministerial office’s budget of $8.427m. The changes to severance arrangements, instituted by this government, is a real example of showing what leadership is about when making sustainable budgets.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for his question. It goes to the heart of what I was speaking about in the previous question, and that is about greater efficiencies and savings from government. If you look at this particular area, the ministerial officers’ budget, it simply has been a disgrace. It simply has been a disgrace.
To put it in some context, members might not be aware that the ministerial officers program within the Department of the Chief Minister provides funding for ministers and for the Leader of the Opposition, and that is for operating costs. If you look at Budget Paper No. 2, it is a large part of the government business support output. So, it is a significantly large part of it. This government has demonstrated that we are going to be lean and mean and we are not going to be spending on ourselves. That is why the ministers were reduced from nine to seven. We had the plea, the pathetic plea, last night from the now Deputy Opposition Leader saying: ‘I will forgive you if you want to put more ministers on. I do not think your ministers can do it’. Ministers in other parts of the country can do it, and ministers in this parliament, in this new government, can do it as well.
Let us look at what it has cost over the last little while in terms of that ministerial officers’ budget. The overall cost ...
Members interjecting.
Ms MARTIN: The overall cost - Yes, there was a change of government ...
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order! Let the Chief Minister answer.
Ms MARTIN: The overall cost of terminating previous government ministerial ...
Mr Burke interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, let us hear the Chief Minister’s answer.
Ms MARTIN: The overall cost of terminating the previous government’s ministerial staff and ministerial consultants was $1.1m - the cost of termination. You have to ask why? An extraordinarily large figure, an absolutely extraordinarily large figure. Of this total of $1.1m on ministerial staff, staff on executive contract received over $400 000. To terminate those staff on executive contract, they received over $400 000. Now, a cute little arrangement had been made with these executive contracts. They had very, very generous termination payments of up to six months pay. You are on an executive contract and what do you get? You work in a political office and, regardless of how long you had been there, you could get a termination payment that covered six months pay.
When this new government came in we stopped it. We stopped that, it was over-generous. It was ridiculously over-generous and it was inequitable. All ministerial staff employed by this government are now entitled to two weeks salary for every year of service, and that is reasonable. The $1.1m to deal with your staff - $1.1m. This change will potentially save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a fair and reasonable government. You can see the types of contracts that were offered from the previous administration and the overly-generous termination arrangements. Overly-generous - $1.1m.
Turning to the overall issue of ministerial officers’ expenditure, it is very interesting to note that expenditure in 2000-01 financial year was nearly $750 000 more than was budgeted for. ‘So don’t worry about the budget’, says the previous government ‘We can just blow it by $750 000 more than was budgeted for the 2001-02 year’.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms MARTIN: You blew the budget.
We are demonstrating how serious we are. We will reduce the level of ministerial office expenditure, and that includes the $796 000 of over-expenditure last year - so it is over $0.75m, $796 000 over-expenditure last year. We have saved $2m, as we have outlined, in the level of ministerial office’s expenditure. Compared to last year, we will save $3.1m. When it comes down to it, you put the cards on the table. We have demonstrated, and we will fulfil this, that we will save $3m. In spite of that, and even given this government’s commitment to a $3m saving in ministerial expenses compared to last year, this government is committed to the revised 2001-02 ministerial office’s budget of $8.427m. The changes to severance arrangements, instituted by this government, is a real example of showing what leadership is about when making sustainable budgets.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016