As Queensland’s public service balloons again under the state budget, we need another Campbell Newman-style clean-out, writes Kylie Lang. VOTE IN OUR POLL
Sky News host Paul Murray says a stamp on the 2023-24 Queensland budget book has indicated Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk blames Anthony Albanese for Australia’s cost of living crisis.
Following the latest pitch – aka Tuesday’s budget – to appease a cheesed-off public, we learnt there were 123 more government staff working in marketing, media and communication roles than there were last year.
In Empress Anna’s own department, the number of “Yes Minister” nodders has jumped by 42 more full-time employees than accounted for in the 2022-23 budget.
Oh, and there are 73 more set to board the bus in the next financial year.
Meanwhile, there is a statewide shortage of GPs as existing clinics struggle to stay afloat and are forced to ditch bulk-billing to cover business costs.
People are putting off seeing a doctor because they either have to travel too far to find one, or simply can’t afford it.
Frontline police numbers are down, as are teachers’.
But don’t worry, when it comes to the “essential service” of spruiking this Labor government, there is no shortage whatsoever. Rather, there’s a surplus, and we taxpayers are footing the bill.
As one Courier-Mail reader put it, there is more spin than an LG washing machine.
The budget papers reveal Ms Palaszczuk has added more than 100 staff to her own already bloated department – and the state’s public servant bill has skyrocketed by almost $2bn to more than $32bn.
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Time for a Campbell Newman-style clean-out – but we’ll have to wait until October 2024, provided the Opposition wins government.
I’m already getting a headache thinking of the redundancies that will flow – and we’ll also be forced to fund.
What seems to be lost on the Palaszczuk pack is that throwing more staff at a problem will not fix it.
Putting more bums on seats in the dysfunctional bureaucracy that is Queensland Health, for example, won’t address the festering culture that makes people frightened to speak up.
It won’t stop payroll bungles or the entrenched default position of secrecy over transparency.
Queensland Health, as I’ve said before, needs to be metaphorically blown up then reinvented.
Ah, but that would require long-term planning by fresh-thinking intellects, not cash splashes to mask underperformance.
Take ambulance ramping. Treasurer Cameron Dick has promised a $764m package that includes patient flow co-ordinators and mental health nurses and “other alternative pathways for specialist clinics to ensure more patients get the care they need”.
What about more doctors? It’s one thing to get people out of ambulances and into emergency rooms faster, but will there be enough medicos at the ready?
Not surprisingly, health industry groups are sceptical, seeking specifics on how the money will alleviate ambulance ramping. No details have been forthcoming. But hey, let’s not get bound up in the minutiae. If it looks good on paper, it must be OK.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Treasurer Cameron Dick face the media on state budget day. Picture: Dan Peled/NCA NewsWire
On a positive note, the budget deliberately acknowledges the key areas of concern for Queenslanders – cost of living, housing affordability, youth crime, hospitals and ambulances.
These areas loomed large in April polling by YouGov for The Courier-Mail and have been high on this newspaper’s agenda for years.
However, what the budget lacks is the big, bold vision to drive this state forward. With the coal royalties that have delivered a massive $12.3bn surplus, so much more could have been done. But the priority is firmly on winning in 2024.
Meaningful change such as attracting more doctors, frontline police and teachers, and urgently delivering more social and affordable housing, doesn’t genuinely rate.
Even the $550 power bill rebate for every home – because why give it only to those who need it most when you can try to woo every voter – has been criticised by a leading bank.
St George Bank economists have said the mining sector gains should have been invested for the future, instead of being used to boost household spending at a time when the Reserve Bank is trying to quell demand in the economy.
As for the obvious winners in the budget – parents of four-year-olds who will receive free kindy – that equates to around 64,000 votes. Lucky them. The rest of us are left with a raft of promises that will not deliver critical reform, even if they were to be honoured.
Never mind, Ms Palaszczuk has a reinforced army of spin doctors to try to convince us otherwise.
LOVE
● The return of maternity services to Gladstone – the women of Biloela, Cooktown, Chinchilla and Weipa must be next and get the care they deserve.
● The $20m makeover under way at Brisbane’s Portside Wharf. Removing the cruise terminal will help businesses to prosper.
LOATHE
● The unthinkable tragedy of the Hunter Valley wedding bus crash that has wrecked the lives of so many families.
● Queensland’s population is set to surpass seven million by 2046, with experts warning housing supply and infrastructure won’t keep up.