Tuesday, 26 August 2025

Public sector review

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (00:55): (1876) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Environment, and it concerns the ongoing trend of this government to cut jobs in regional Victoria, indeed in his own Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action and in particular on public land, bushfire prevention, forest services, and pest and weed control. The action I seek from the minister is to make that commitment and make that guarantee that no frontline jobs will be cut from public land management programs, including bushfire, forest services, and pest and weed control. Minister, I am aware and you are aware that your government is in a vast black hole of debt, and you have been asked to cut jobs. In fact in DEECA 350 jobs are alleged to be going, and my concern is in my shadow portfolio of bushfire and forest services 31 staff are going to be cut from biosecurity and weed and pest control. These are not back office jobs; these are frontline workers.

DEECA has become bloated with bureaucracy, full of suits and far too few boots, and the government has had this trend ongoing. In September 2024, 208 staff were cut from bushfire and forest services across 99 regional sites. In 2024, in November, 100 parks jobs were slated to go – then deferred while the review that is being done is still hidden from the public. In February this year, 33 jobs were cut in your other portfolio of Victorian Fisheries Authority. This is a pattern of neglect of the regions, and we also see it in priority 5 of your Parks Victoria annual delivery plan. It commits to reducing threats to species and ecosystems through pest, plant and animal control, yet you are cutting away the very staff that can deliver these controls and support our environment. All the while we have got a debt that is going to blow out to $194 billion in the forward estimates. You are picking and choosing jobs to cut in terms of environment, and you are cutting the services in the regions.

Minister, in terms of your own department, I actually really, really feel sorry for the people who work in our regional departments, because they are having to take the axe to people who need to do the work, who want to do the work. There is no money to do the work because you are stifling them. Minister, commit and make that guarantee that no frontline jobs will be cut in this area.