"Debnam challenged on public sector job cuts" 17/2
Feb 17, 2007 20:05:01 GMT 10
Post by dededom on Feb 17, 2007 20:05:01 GMT 10
*Well, Damien is full of suprises. I never thought i'd be posting an article like this*
EDIT - SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE YOU DON"T HAVE TO READ IT ALL (although it may be educational!)
Debnam challenged on public sector job cuts
www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21242326-29277,00.html
February 17, 2007
ON the eve of the NSW Labor party election campaign launch, Premier Morris Iemma has again challenged Opposition Leader Peter Debnam to detail how he will cut 20,000 public sector jobs.
To demonstrate just how many jobs would go under a Coalition government, Mr Iemma today held a press conference at Parramatta stadium in Sydney's west, a venue which holds 20,000 spectators.
The Opposition leader wants to cut 20,000 public sector jobs with a staff freeze to fund other projects.
Mr Iemma and Mr Debnam last night went head to head in the state's first ever televised campaign leaders' debate, ahead of the March 24 NSW election.
While Mr Iemma said last night's election debate could have gone better, he said Mr Debnam still could not explain how he would carry out the job cuts.
"Coming out of the debate he was unable to explain the central proposition he is putting forward at the election campaign,'' Mr Iemma said.
"There are questions unanswered ... where will he get the 20,000 (jobs) without affecting frontline jobs like nurses, teachers and police?
"Mr Debnam came up with this figure, he plucked it out of thin air.''
Staff were needed to support the frontline staff, Mr Iemma said.
He said the Opposition was unsure how many jobs would be lost, with Deputy Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell saying the figure would be about 25,000 jobs.
Mr Debnam said jobs would be cut through natural attrition, but was unable to give a breakdown of the exact areas in which jobs would be lost..
"What we are going to do if someone retires or resigns, we will have a recruitment freeze in place,'' Mr Debnam said.
"The director-generals will have a new organisational structure, they will have a new departmental structure and they will make do with the resources they've got.''
Today Mr Iemma reflected on last night's debate, saying he enjoyed it and did his best, but came away feeling he wanted to say more.
"I left last night worrying about how I could have done better,'' Mr Iemma said.
The premier also said he was not satisfied with the format of the debate, which was broken into segments according to topic with pre-recorded introductions by debate host Quentin Dempster.
Mr Iemma said reports that the debate was outrated by a Network Seven gardening show were a good indication as to why there should not be another debate before the election.
Mr Debnam, on the other hand, said he'd welcome another debate, and he was "delighted'' to hear Mr Iemma thought he could have done better in last night's debate.
"I assume he is now going to agree to another debate because the important point for us all is that last night demonstrated that NSW has so many problems and there's so many areas of services and infrastructure that we can do better,'' Mr Debnam said.
The Labor Party's election campaign launch will take place tomorrow at Hurstville in Sydney's south, and will feature a performance by Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith.
EDIT - SEE BOTTOM OF PAGE YOU DON"T HAVE TO READ IT ALL (although it may be educational!)
Debnam challenged on public sector job cuts
www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21242326-29277,00.html
February 17, 2007
ON the eve of the NSW Labor party election campaign launch, Premier Morris Iemma has again challenged Opposition Leader Peter Debnam to detail how he will cut 20,000 public sector jobs.
To demonstrate just how many jobs would go under a Coalition government, Mr Iemma today held a press conference at Parramatta stadium in Sydney's west, a venue which holds 20,000 spectators.
The Opposition leader wants to cut 20,000 public sector jobs with a staff freeze to fund other projects.
Mr Iemma and Mr Debnam last night went head to head in the state's first ever televised campaign leaders' debate, ahead of the March 24 NSW election.
While Mr Iemma said last night's election debate could have gone better, he said Mr Debnam still could not explain how he would carry out the job cuts.
"Coming out of the debate he was unable to explain the central proposition he is putting forward at the election campaign,'' Mr Iemma said.
"There are questions unanswered ... where will he get the 20,000 (jobs) without affecting frontline jobs like nurses, teachers and police?
"Mr Debnam came up with this figure, he plucked it out of thin air.''
Staff were needed to support the frontline staff, Mr Iemma said.
He said the Opposition was unsure how many jobs would be lost, with Deputy Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell saying the figure would be about 25,000 jobs.
Mr Debnam said jobs would be cut through natural attrition, but was unable to give a breakdown of the exact areas in which jobs would be lost..
"What we are going to do if someone retires or resigns, we will have a recruitment freeze in place,'' Mr Debnam said.
"The director-generals will have a new organisational structure, they will have a new departmental structure and they will make do with the resources they've got.''
Today Mr Iemma reflected on last night's debate, saying he enjoyed it and did his best, but came away feeling he wanted to say more.
"I left last night worrying about how I could have done better,'' Mr Iemma said.
The premier also said he was not satisfied with the format of the debate, which was broken into segments according to topic with pre-recorded introductions by debate host Quentin Dempster.
Mr Iemma said reports that the debate was outrated by a Network Seven gardening show were a good indication as to why there should not be another debate before the election.
Mr Debnam, on the other hand, said he'd welcome another debate, and he was "delighted'' to hear Mr Iemma thought he could have done better in last night's debate.
"I assume he is now going to agree to another debate because the important point for us all is that last night demonstrated that NSW has so many problems and there's so many areas of services and infrastructure that we can do better,'' Mr Debnam said.
The Labor Party's election campaign launch will take place tomorrow at Hurstville in Sydney's south, and will feature a performance by Australian Idol 2006 winner Damien Leith.
