❓ Opposition questions the Premier on why the voluntary targeted separation scheme failed to meet its target of reducing public sector FTEs by 3,000, given the actual reduction was only 300. The Premier defends the shortfall by citing increased demand in schools and hospitals.
AnsweredQoN 1014Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
''STATE OF THE
SECTOR: 2018'' — VOLUNTARY TARGETED SEPARATION SCHEME
1014. Dr M.D. NAHAN to the Premier:
I refer to page 7 of the Public
Sector Commission's ''State of the Sector: 2018'' report,
tabled today. As the person responsible for public sector management, can the
Premier explain why the number of full-time equivalent public servants is 110 373,
or just 300 fewer than the year before and well short of the 3 000 that he
promised under the voluntary targeted separation scheme?
SECTOR: 2018'' — VOLUNTARY TARGETED SEPARATION SCHEME
1014. Dr M.D. NAHAN to the Premier:
I refer to page 7 of the Public
Sector Commission's ''State of the Sector: 2018'' report,
tabled today. As the person responsible for public sector management, can the
Premier explain why the number of full-time equivalent public servants is 110 373,
or just 300 fewer than the year before and well short of the 3 000 that he
promised under the voluntary targeted separation scheme?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the Leader of the Opposition
for the question. Obviously, the government needs to live within its financial
means, but it also has to provide outstanding services to the people of Western
Australia, particularly in the area of hospitals and schools. If members look
at the report, it is fairly self-explanatory. If they go a few pages earlier,
members will find a range of diagrams that set out what has occurred. What has
occurred is that there has been growth in the number of students coming into
public schools around Western Australia and a growth in patients coming from
private hospitals to public hospitals. Therefore, we find that there is an
increase in the number of teachers, teachers aides, doctors and nurses in
particular across the public sector. Although we have put in place the
voluntary targeted separation scheme, which had a target of around 3 000 people
to separate voluntarily, members also have to understand that as student
numbers and patient numbers increase, there will be an increase in staff in
hospitals and schools. I would have thought that was pretty straightforward.
for the question. Obviously, the government needs to live within its financial
means, but it also has to provide outstanding services to the people of Western
Australia, particularly in the area of hospitals and schools. If members look
at the report, it is fairly self-explanatory. If they go a few pages earlier,
members will find a range of diagrams that set out what has occurred. What has
occurred is that there has been growth in the number of students coming into
public schools around Western Australia and a growth in patients coming from
private hospitals to public hospitals. Therefore, we find that there is an
increase in the number of teachers, teachers aides, doctors and nurses in
particular across the public sector. Although we have put in place the
voluntary targeted separation scheme, which had a target of around 3 000 people
to separate voluntarily, members also have to understand that as student
numbers and patient numbers increase, there will be an increase in staff in
hospitals and schools. I would have thought that was pretty straightforward.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.