00:00Teachers and health workers walking off the job and 16 public sector wage agreements still to be settled.
00:08The government already has a fight on its hands with workers and unions.
00:12The budget offers no compromises.
00:15This budget is so disappointing.
00:17You cannot concrete over a health crisis.
00:20It is a really devastating budget. It impacts every single agency and every services.
00:26The government is sticking to the 3% pay increase over one year, well short of union demands.
00:32The budget shows that every 1% increase above that costs more than $80 million a year.
00:38The government cannot afford the public service it has.
00:41We know that we need the public service themselves including and particularly the secretaries of departments to do their job and get their departments under control.
00:50The budget continues with plans to find $50 million per year in savings in the public sector via an efficiency unit rising to $150 million in 2027 and an ongoing hiring freeze for what the government calls non-essential recruitment.
01:07We already are short of staff so we're not spending the amount on staff that we should be. So the Treasurer is not being honest in respect to that.
01:17And major cuts in public servant numbers have moved one year closer.
01:22In 2022 Tasmania had about 5,300 public servants per 100,000 people.
01:28That's continued to grow including another jump since the May budget.
01:33The government wants to return to the 2022 rate in 2032.
01:38The Treasurer says this amounts to 2,800 fewer workers.
01:42Sometimes when you're right size there will be a discomfort occasion to people which will not necessarily provide accolades for the government but nevertheless it's the right thing to do and that's what we'll be doing.
01:58The next budget in six months time could be where the impacts on workers really start to hit home.
02:04But today's budget had one taste of things to come.
02:07The government to consolidate its departmental communications staff.
02:11A drop in the ocean with tougher decisions ahead.
02:14A drop in the ocean with no trying to dissolve.
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