The number of highly paid Queensland Government executives will be reduced and a hiring freeze placed on parts of the public service to save billions of dollars and pay down record debt.
Treasurer Cameron Dick revealed the plan to save $3 billion over the forward estimates as the state faces a debt blowout, aggravated by the coronavirus crisis.
To achieve the multi-billion dollar reduction, the Government will introduce saving measures that include:
- Reducing the number of senior executives through natural attrition
- A hiring freeze on public service positions, excluding frontline staff, for 12 months
- Cutting contractors jobs, and reducing the use of consultancies
- Moving Government staff away from One William Street in Brisbane's CBD and into underutilised urban office space, to free up building assets for leasing to the private sector
- Cutting advertising, glossy marketing materials and shutting down redundant social media accounts.
Mr Dick said Queensland, like all Governments affected by coronavirus, needed to find savings to help the budget bottom-line.
"We have a solemn obligation to ensure that every dollar of Queensland taxpayers' money works as hard as possible and is not wasted," Mr Dick said.
"Every tax payer dollar is precious and every taxpayer dollar is powerful."
Debt figure to come
In December 2019, the state's debt was forecast to top $91.8 billion within four years.
The economic fallout of coronavirus is likely to see that number balloon even higher, but Mr Dick won't reveal the new figure before he delivers an economic analysis in September.
"Do I want to borrow more money? No. Is it my first choice? No," he said.
"But when the alternative is austerity, borrowing is the only sensible decision."
Mr Dick was unable to say how many contract staff could be at risk of losing their Government work.
But he said a recent decision to end the contracts of nearly 40 staff involved in an IT project, as revealed by ABC News, was already saving the Government $600,000 per month.
He also said the hiring freeze on non-essential workers in the public service would cap the sector to about 20,000 people.
