Page 2416 - Week 09 - Thursday, 17 September 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR KAINE: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. The statistics to which the Chief Minister refers presumably are for last fiscal year. Since there are no projections of staff reductions in this present year, does the Government expect to achieve a similar sized reduction in the public sector payroll this year?
MS FOLLETT: The Government, for this budget, has not taken any decisions specifically relating to staff numbers. Rather, we have allocated a budget to agencies and to programs, and I expect them to live within that budget. In the majority of cases, that budget does contain a slight reduction in funding to their running costs, and that is the area where salaries are. I want to make it clear, though, that I expect all programs to look very thoroughly at their operation. I do not believe that a reduction in their running costs automatically implies a reduction in their staffing. I trust that program managers will look across the whole range of options available to them in meeting their budgets. Should they come to the decision, however, that staff savings are inevitable, I can assure members that there will be no involuntary redundancies, that redeployment is the preferred option and will be pursued first, and that the RRR award will be adhered to. I am happy to advise that some arrangements have been agreed with particular unions on the process to be followed where staff reductions are to occur. If staff reductions are to occur, they will occur only in full negotiation and consultation with the unions involved.
Community Grants
MR LAMONT: My question is also directed to the Chief Minister. How much extra funding is provided in the budget for general community grants, and why did the Government take this decision?
MS FOLLETT: The Government appreciates the work that is carried out by community organisations in delivering high-quality services to the people of the ACT. We believe, further, that these services are all the more appreciated, all the more necessary, at a time of national recession. We have therefore taken a decision in the budget to increase funding to community organisations, and that is going to occur in two ways. Firstly, community organisations' funding will be indexed, and that will take account of the general cost pressures currently being faced by these organisations. Secondly, over and above that indexation, we have taken a whole of government approach, which I believe is a unique approach, to providing growth funding to community organisations through the budget. That additional funding amounts to half a million dollars.
The substantial amount of the additional funding does recognise that community organisations are having to cover additional costs at this time, not the least of which are their obligations for superannuation and training levies. Community organisations are employers and they do have those obligations. As I have said, at a time of recession they have a particular demand on their services as well. The grants programs which will benefit from this growth funding are administered by the Housing and Community Services Bureau, by my own department, by the Department of the Environment, Land and Planning, by the Office of Sport and Recreation, and by ACT Health.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .