LNP says public service jobs are safe. Union warns of Newman-style cuts

Queensland’s public sector union has launched a savage attack on the LNP, warning members of impending job cuts if David Crisafulli is premier this time next week.

But the opposition leader has sought to assure public servants their jobs will be safe under an LNP government, despite thousands of sackings following similar pre-election promises last time the party won power.

At the time, the Campbell Newman-led government used former federal treasurer Peter Costello’s review of Queensland’s finances to justify sacking 14,000 government employees. This after Newman gave a pre-election assurance that they had “nothing to fear” from an LNP government.

Together union secretary Alex Scott has written to members urging them to put the LNP last.Credit: Matt Dennien

Together union secretary Alex Scott, who took that assurance at its word and even considered campaigning for the LNP ahead of the 2012 election, told members “no public service was untouched” when the Newman government went on its cutting spree.

“They lied when they said the 14,000 cuts were voluntary,” he said.

“They lied when they said they were only cutting non-frontline jobs.

“They lied when they said it would not damage the quality of the public sector services.

“The LNP is still waiting until late on Thursday before they release their plans on debt and taxes. These are the plans, along with their new election promises, that will have to be paid for by cutting public sector jobs.”

Scott said the party would need to cut 17,391 jobs across Queensland to achieve a fiscal balance, based on its campaign promises.

Crisafulli, who lost his seat of Mundingburra when Queensland voters rejected the Newman government in 2015, said he wanted a “world-class public service” that would include workers doing regional stints during their careers.

“Eighteen months ago, I put forward our plan for the public service, and I’ve clearly ruled out redundancies,” he said in Brisbane this week.

“What I want from the public service is to realise that there is a better way for them, and we want to empower them, and we want them to be able to do their job free from the culture of entrenched fear that we’ve heard a lot about.

“I want the public service to know that we are determined to end the days of farming everything out to the big four [accounting firms Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PwC].

“We want to get traineeships again – and do lots of them – so young people can see a career path. They can do a bit of work in the private sector and take those skills back to the public service.”

Crisafulli said his ministers would give public servants a clear vision, but would expect to receive “fearless and frank” advice from them in return.

Premier Steven Miles – a former Together union official, when it was still known as the Queensland Public Sector Union – said the only thing public servants had to fear was a Crisafulli government.

“Let’s remember that in 2012, they said public servants had nothing to fear, but it turns out they had a lot to fear,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Electrical Trades Union has injected itself into the election campaign with an anti-nuclear missive to 15,000 members, just two months after redirecting funds from the Labor Party to the CFMEU’s ongoing legal battles.

ETU Queensland secretary Peter Ong sent a report to all members on Wednesday – three days before election day – warning of the “serious risks” nuclear power would pose to their jobs.

But he stopped short of urging a vote for Labor.

“We have heard very little about this plan from the state LNP opposition during the campaign,” Ong said in a statement. “That’s a disgrace.”

Crisafulli has repeated his opposition to nuclear power in Queensland, even as federal leader Peter Dutton talked it up during a joint appearance early in the campaign.

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