Mr. Papalia questions the Minister for Education about the timing of notification regarding a 1% efficiency dividend and the specific service cuts required to meet it. The Minister responds that the decision was made late in the budget process and that front-line services will not be affected.

AnsweredQoN 304Legislative Assembly
Asked
13 June 2012
Portfolio
Education

QuestionView source ↗

EFFICIENCY DIVIDEND — EDUCATION
PORTFOLIO
304. Mr P. PAPALIA to the Minister for Education:
I refer to the minister's claim on 31 May during
budget estimates that she could not say what services would be cut to meet the
efficiency dividend because she had ''only known for a very short period
that the one per cent would be imposed'' and that she was at that time ''looking
at those options''.
(1) When
exactly was the minister told that her department would have to cut its budget
by $30.4 million to achieve a one per cent efficiency dividend?
Is the minister ready?
Dr E. Constable :
Yes, I am listening to what you are saying. I do not have to look at you while
you are speaking.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : Is the minister incapable of answering without asking —
The
SPEAKER : Member for Warnbro, I have given you the call to ask a question,
not to make a range of assertions about other people in this place. You have
the capacity to ask the question; ask the question, member for Warnbro.
Mr
P. PAPALIA : And —
(2) Noting
that the financial year starts in only two and a half weeks' time, can
she now say which services will be cut to meet the dividend?

AnswerView source ↗

(1)–(2)
As everybody knows, we go through a long process in forming the budget. During
that process and towards the end of that process, I was informed that the Department
of Education would be required to look for one per cent efficiencies towards
the end of the budget process. This was different from every other portfolio—every
other agency. Every other agency has to find a two per cent efficiency
dividend, but the one per cent for education recognised that in education the
major proportion of our spending is recurrent and we will not be touching
front-line services in looking for those efficiencies. I will be working
through the process over the next weeks and months with the Director General of
Education and senior officers of the department to find those efficiencies.

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