Mr MILLS - 2006-02-15
GST windfalls have improved your income by hundred of millions of dollars over your first term in office, but you have increased your non-discretionary commitment to wages and salaries. Now the GST revenue is beginning to taper off. In your mid-year report, you are planning to save $13m in wages and salaries. If you do not reach that target through natural attrition, where will you start to make reductions in public service numbers? Will you refuse to renew contracts? Who will be made redundant? In what areas will there be demotions?
Answer
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his question.
The member for Blain is on the record a couple of times today. He says we spend too much on sport and he wants to do away with the V8s. Clearly, his question and comments this morning …
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That is certainly not what the member for Blain said or inferred. I ask that the Treasurer withdraw his comments.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order, but if the member for Blain feels that he has been misrepresented he can approach me about making a personal explanation.
Mr Mills: I know I am, and honourable members know the same.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain, if you wish to, you can approach me about making a personal explanation.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: In addition to the comments from the member for Blain, we had the question from the Leader of the Opposition just a few questions ago that we pay public servants too much. Go and tell the public servants that ...
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Treasurer is a minister of the Crown, and if he cannot at least start telling the truth in here, he has no reason to expect Territorians to believe him. He should not to be putting words into my mouth nor those of my colleagues. Madam Speaker, I ask that he withdraw his offensive remark.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order. Once again, if you feel that you have been misrepresented, you can approach me about making a personal explanation.
Mr STIRLING: Madam Speaker, I am simply putting on the record what I understand to be the opposition’s position on a couple of these issues today.
Ms Carney: You are a liar!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, you will withdraw!
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw ‘liar’, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I have had to call on you a number of times during Question Time. If I have to call on you again, I am afraid I will have to put you on a warning.
Mr Mills: Answer the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain!
Mr STIRLING: We, as a government, make no excuse whatsoever for the wages, conditions and services enjoyed by the 15 000 public servants out there. They are doing a first-class job on behalf of government. It is a simple fact of labour market reality these days, with everybody chasing skilled and experienced labour. If you do not match the market, you will very soon lose them interstate, as we saw under the CLP for many years with police officers where they departed for the Australian Federal Police, to Queensland, and to New South Wales, as they were offering far better wages, salaries, and conditions of service. There is that, but there is always a case for a worker to get just compensation for the rewards of their labour, and that is what this government achieves.
Regarding numbers, I stand by what I said yesterday and in answer to a question before: numbers are higher than we have seen historically in the Northern Territory Public Service over the last couple of years. There is a good reason for many hundreds of those in terms of the policy decision we made to rebuild the critical service delivery agencies of Police, Health and Education. Notwithstanding that, we believe there is a view that there is other growth in there that can be washed out over time, and natural attrition will take care of that.
Therefore, it is not up to me, the Chief Minister or anyone, including chief executive officers, to start sacking people or demanding redundancies or retrenchments. It is not necessary to do that. There is a case that, over time, numbers can be washed through in the same way that they washed into the system, and chief executive officers, over time, will be responsible for that. However, the first responsibility the chief executive officers and their chief financial officers within their agencies have is to bring their budget in. That is what we ask of them; that is their first priority as a chief executive officer and a chief financial officer. That is what we expect them to do, and they will.
Answer
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Blain for his question.
The member for Blain is on the record a couple of times today. He says we spend too much on sport and he wants to do away with the V8s. Clearly, his question and comments this morning …
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! That is certainly not what the member for Blain said or inferred. I ask that the Treasurer withdraw his comments.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order, but if the member for Blain feels that he has been misrepresented he can approach me about making a personal explanation.
Mr Mills: I know I am, and honourable members know the same.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain, if you wish to, you can approach me about making a personal explanation.
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STIRLING: In addition to the comments from the member for Blain, we had the question from the Leader of the Opposition just a few questions ago that we pay public servants too much. Go and tell the public servants that ...
Ms CARNEY: A point of order, Madam Speaker! The Treasurer is a minister of the Crown, and if he cannot at least start telling the truth in here, he has no reason to expect Territorians to believe him. He should not to be putting words into my mouth nor those of my colleagues. Madam Speaker, I ask that he withdraw his offensive remark.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, there is no point of order. Once again, if you feel that you have been misrepresented, you can approach me about making a personal explanation.
Mr STIRLING: Madam Speaker, I am simply putting on the record what I understand to be the opposition’s position on a couple of these issues today.
Ms Carney: You are a liar!
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, you will withdraw!
Ms CARNEY: I withdraw ‘liar’, Madam Speaker.
Madam SPEAKER: Leader of the Opposition, I have had to call on you a number of times during Question Time. If I have to call on you again, I am afraid I will have to put you on a warning.
Mr Mills: Answer the question.
Madam SPEAKER: Member for Blain!
Mr STIRLING: We, as a government, make no excuse whatsoever for the wages, conditions and services enjoyed by the 15 000 public servants out there. They are doing a first-class job on behalf of government. It is a simple fact of labour market reality these days, with everybody chasing skilled and experienced labour. If you do not match the market, you will very soon lose them interstate, as we saw under the CLP for many years with police officers where they departed for the Australian Federal Police, to Queensland, and to New South Wales, as they were offering far better wages, salaries, and conditions of service. There is that, but there is always a case for a worker to get just compensation for the rewards of their labour, and that is what this government achieves.
Regarding numbers, I stand by what I said yesterday and in answer to a question before: numbers are higher than we have seen historically in the Northern Territory Public Service over the last couple of years. There is a good reason for many hundreds of those in terms of the policy decision we made to rebuild the critical service delivery agencies of Police, Health and Education. Notwithstanding that, we believe there is a view that there is other growth in there that can be washed out over time, and natural attrition will take care of that.
Therefore, it is not up to me, the Chief Minister or anyone, including chief executive officers, to start sacking people or demanding redundancies or retrenchments. It is not necessary to do that. There is a case that, over time, numbers can be washed through in the same way that they washed into the system, and chief executive officers, over time, will be responsible for that. However, the first responsibility the chief executive officers and their chief financial officers within their agencies have is to bring their budget in. That is what we ask of them; that is their first priority as a chief executive officer and a chief financial officer. That is what we expect them to do, and they will.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016