The 10 questions South Australians want answered by the State Government
AXED bus routes. The Henry Keogh payout. Privatisations. Right-hand turning trams. These are the 10 burning questions South Australia wants State Government Ministers to answer.
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AS a week of Estimates begins in State Parliament today, The Advertiser’s political reporter Adam Langenberg highlights the 10 questions South Australians want answered.
1 How many bus routes will be cut? Which will they be?
It’s unknown how many bus routes face the chop as part of “a public transport services review”, that the Government says will save $14.8 million a year from 2019-20.
Transport Minister Stephan Knoll has said that the routes in the gun are those with “low patronage”, or where services are duplicated.
The Advertiser has published a list of our least popular bus routes but Mr Knoll won’t comment about whether they are in trouble until the review is completed.
Last week the Sunday Mail revealed about 10 services cost taxpayers more than $100 per passenger each trip, while almost 100 services cost more than $50 per passenger.
It’s unlikely we’ll have complete answers about which services will get cut by the end of Estimates week but we should get some more clarity about how many of the routes might be discontinued and by when it will happen.
2 When will the tram turn right on to North Terrace?
There’s $37 million in the State Budget for a right-hand tram turn to be delivered, as the Government promised in the lead-up to the state election but we’re still in the dark about when it will happen and whether it’s achievable for that cost.
And while we’re at it, some further clarity from Mr Knoll about when the tram extension up North Tce to the city’s East End will be completed would be appreciated.
3 How much money will outsourcing the Adelaide Remand Centre save?
A tender to run the high-security Adelaide Remand Centre is out but Treasurer Rob Lucas hasn’t told taxpayers how much better our bottom line will be with its staffing and operation in private hands.
Mr Lucas says the private sector can run the facility most efficiently but we’re yet to find out by how much that will change.
The Public Service Association has launched what it says will be a long-running campaign against the outsourcing, holding a high-profile rally on September 10.
Expect Labor to ask plenty of questions about what will be a key area of interest during Estimates.
4 Which departments will be hardest hit as part of moves to cut more than 4000 public servants?
We know just more than 1700 of the job losses come from disability employees, who will transfer to the private sector as part of the transition to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Mr Lucas has said all of those employees will be offered jobs in the private sector.
There’s no complete list of where the other 2286 job losses will be coming from. Teasing one out will be one of Labor’s key goals from this week’s proceedings and will become a key part of the PSA’s campaign against the Budget. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that the job losses are only about 250 more than former Labor treasurer Tom Koutsantonis proposed in last year’s Mid-Year Budget Review.
5 How do you stop departments from hiring new employees after handing out golden handshakes?
This is, as Mr Lucas highlighted in his Budget speech, a key challenge for the Government. It’s been well publicised that the number of public servants grew under Labor despite them handing out millions of dollars in separation packages.
Mr Lucas is yet to detail how he’ll achieve the task of keeping public service numbers in check, saying only that he’ll work closely with departmental chief executives.
6 Can exorbitant health spending be brought under control while fixing problems besieging our health system?
It’s a billion-dollar question and one governments of all stripes have been trying to answer for decades. Mr Lucas provided a $730 million funding boost to the health budget over the forward estimates, saying the previous government’s saving targets was “not realistic or achievable”. There’s some savings measures in the mix too — the most notable putting SA Pathology and the state’s medical imaging service on notice that they could be outsourced if they don’t achieve significant savings targets. Balancing the health budget while addressing ramping and full emergency departments will be a significant challenge.
7 Was paying Henry Keogh, wrongly convicted of murder, $2.57 million in compensation a good decision?
A Parliamentary committee is inquiring into this payment but expect Labor to probe Attorney-General Vickie Chapman about the huge payout and attempt to extract any advice she received that it was necessary.
8 How will the Government achieve hundreds of millions of dollars in unspecified savings?
There’s big chunks of savings in the Budget that the Government says will come from “general efficiencies”. Where will they come from and what programs or services will be scrapped to achieve it?
9 How big a pay rise will you give public servants in the next year, including our teachers, nurses, police and ambulance officers?
Plenty of frontline public servants have their enterprise bargaining agreements come up for renewal in this coming financial year. Mr Lucas says the Government has a cap on wage rises but is yet to declare what it is. Labor’s Mr Koutsantonis had set a 1.5 per cent wage cap but continually signed off on deals higher than that. It’s unclear if Mr Lucas will opt for a flat cap or have it differ for each group of employees.
10 How much of the Building Better Schools funding will go towards school facility upgrades and how much will be solely focused at shift year 7 into high schools?
It’s unclear exactly how the pool of school funding handed out under the former government will be allocated. It’s expected a priority will be placed on getting schools ready for an influx of new students but expect a fight if long-awaited capital upgrades are put off to accommodate them.