Public Service Watch: Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio

Details about confirmed and rumoured cuts from within Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister John McVeigh's portfolio.

Cuts already confirmed by government

200 job cuts:
About 200 public service jobs will be lost in the first wave of job reductions in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Minister John McVeigh confirmed on August 9.

Townsville vet lab:
Mr McVeigh confirmed on July 25 the government had decided not to build an $18 million vet lab facility at James Cook University, but dismissed claims the move posed additional risk to agriculture in north and far north Queensland.

Rumoured cuts

Departmental jobs:
Date: July 20
Information: Claims that leaked information from a Cabinet Budget Review submission suggests that 550 jobs from the 2500 in the new Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry would be axed.
Source: Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mulherin, citing information he had received.
Put to minister: July 20
Response: Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister John McVeigh confirmed there would be job cuts but said “those reductions will definitely not include frontline officers involved in key services such as fisheries patrols”. He did not discuss the scale of job reductions.

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Cuts in other portfolios

• Premier's portfolio
• State Development, Infrastructure and Planning portfolio
• Treasury and Trade portfolio
• Health portfolio
• Education, Training and Employment portfolio
• Police and Community Safety portfolio
• Attorney-General and Justice portfolio
• Transport and Main Roads portfolio
• Housing and Public Works
• Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio
• Environment and Heritage Protection portfolio
• Natural Resources and Mines portfolio
• Energy and Water Supply portfolio
• Local Government portfolio
• Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services portfolio
• Science, IT, Innovation and Arts portfolio
• National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing portfolio
• Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and Commonwealth Games portfolio
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs portfolio