Mid-Year Review AKA The Band-Aid Fix
As expected, the 16-17 Mid-Year Review exposes Band-Aid fixes, waste and no planning for the future of WA.
It proves years of decimation to the public service; with just 3% growth in public sector staff trying to cope with the service demands of an 11% population boom in WA since 2011.
This government has yet again decided to diminish the public service by privatising its parent support work. Announcing this as an $8.6million “investment” – the plan actually privatises parenting support services to other organisations.
The Treasurer’s description of the sale of Western Power as a “circuit breaker” proves this government is not planning for the future of WA – with Western Power generating a record profit of $55million this year alone, the asset should stay in public hands.
The skyrocketing prisoner population needs more than a Band-Aid fix of an additional $25million to keep up with incarceration numbers.
The waste continues, with $28million attributed to the disastrous Children’s Hospital delays.
And finally, the review reveals next year there is no funding for ‘Early Intervention and Family Support’ or new Child Protection Caseworkers, even though we have a record number of children coming into Department of Child Protection Care.
This review does not plan for the future and ignores fundamental staffing issues within the public sector. Serious investments, not just Band-Aid fixes, need to be made for the future of WA’s public services.
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