CPSU/CSA response to 2019/20 mid-year review

The 2019 mid-year review sees Premier McGowan bringing the budget back to a surplus of $2.6 billion for Western Australia.  

CPSU/CSA Secretary Rikki Hendon says this surplus provides government with a great opportunity to invest into our public services. 

“Government should do the right thing and invest this 2.6 billion-dollar surplus into critical public services.

“ Public services like Child Protection and Family Support are dangerously overstretched and need more resources so caseloads are maintained at safe levels.

“Child Protection workers need more funding so they can work closely with our state’s most vulnerable children and ensure they thrive in care.

“Government is not delivering for kids in care and we need to ensure the experiences of children like Tah-Shae, a 16-year-old girl who was placed in 76 foster homes in 12 years, will not become the norm.” 

Now the government is back in the black, they have the opportunity to create security and stability in their workforce.

“Our workers are falling behind because they have not received a pay increase that has kept up with the increasing costs of living.

“With the new economic forecast of $2.6 billion, the government’s wages policy of only $1,000 per year is outdated and unwarranted.

“We urge the government to recognise the social and financial benefits of investing in quality public services and the people who provide them.”