Page rejects Debus’ job loss claim
‘Scare mongering and outright lies’ is how Ballina MP Don Page today described claims from NSW Environment Minister Bob Debus that nine Department of Environment and Conservation jobs will go in Byron Bay and Alstonville if a Coalition Government is elected.
Mr Page said the Coalition’s recruitment freeze policy on non-frontline public sector jobs was confined to metropolitan areas only and would not apply in regional or country centres at all.
“The Nationals were successful in guaranteeing the public sector recruitment freeze is on non-frontline jobs in metropolitan areas only,” Mr Page said.
“The NSW bureaucracy includes a large and growing number of overpaid Sydney backroom bureaucrats who are not providing value for money for NSW taxpayers.
“Each year around 10 per cent of these Sydney-based State Government backroom bureaucrats retire or resign. A Coalition Government won’t recruit from outside the NSW public sector to replace them. This would save hundreds of millions of dollars a year that will be used to boost frontline staff and services.
“All frontline and essential support staff and all regional staff who retire or resign will be replaced, including police, teachers, nurses and emergency services workers.
“Government Ministers like Mr Debus should stop peddling lies and focus on fixing up our health system, rebuilding our infrastructure in regional NSW and kick-starting the NSW economy.”
