By: Ed Cocks MLA
After years of warnings about the impact of persistent deficits, and revelations of school budget cuts, ACT Labor has announced even more public service cuts as the Government struggles to bring its deteriorating Budget under control.
Shadow Treasurer Ed Cocks says the ACT Government’s move to cut 65 jobs now and eventually up to 4% of employees working across areas like public housing, child protection, youth and domestic violence and community services was the consequence of years of Labor’s bad decisions.
“Responsible financial management supports essential services. When governments allow debt, deficits and interest costs to get out of control, eventually something has to give.
Shadow Treasurer Ed Cocks said Labor had spent years running scare campaigns about public service cuts, while allowing the Territory’s finances to deteriorate to the point where it was now making cuts of its own.
“Labor told Canberrans it would protect public service jobs. Now schools, health and community services are in the firing line as Labor scrambles to contain costs.
“Eventually choices have consequences. Now it’s the Canberra community and public servants paying for Labor’s mismanagement. And no one believes these will be the last of Labor’s cuts.”
The cuts arrive in the shadow of the Legislative Assembly’s landmark multi-partisan fiscal sustainability report which found that the ACT Budget was unsustainable and that the deterioration in the Budget was entirely due to the Labor Government’s decisions.
“Labor has repeatedly dismissed every concern. Before the last election they said Canberra couldn’t afford NOT to spend record amounts on capital projects that were funded entirely through debt. And even last week Labor’s Finance Minister refused to call a cut a cut.”
“Now Labor is on track to throw away over a billion dollars in interest costs every year. At the same time as services and infrastructure are decaying and Canberrans are paying record rates and taxes, and now they’re slashing the public service.”
“Getting things back on track is going to require real savings, and those measures have real consequences.”
“In this instance the consequences will be borne by public servants and their families.”