Editorial: It’s time to link pay to productivity

Once again Queensland taxpayers will be footing a generous pay increase for state workers without knowing if we’re getting our money’s worth, writes the editor.

Premier David Crisafulli in Parliament. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The current round of Queensland public sector wage negotiations has presented the LNP state government with its first big chance to walk the talk on its commitment to improving the state’s productivity.

But that would involve taking on the public sector unions. And all the signs are that’s a fight it doesn’t want to start. Which means that once again, Queensland taxpayers will be footing yet another generous pay increase for state workers without knowing if we’re getting our money’s worth.

There used to be a time when public sector wage talks involved so-called efficiency dividends – a concession by the union on a particular work practice perhaps in return for more money.

But 10 years of state Labor government killed off the idea of better pay in return for better productivity. By all accounts, whatever the unions wanted the unions got. The new government, despite its pro-business roots and its focus on improving productivity, seems to be simply picking up where Labor left off.

It has made a blanket wage offer to public servants of 3 per cent this year and 2.5 per cent in 2026 and 2027, without any explanation to the public of any productivity trade-offs.

You’d have to think that after a decade of a Labor government signing off on whatever the unions demanded, there’d be plenty of room for horse-trading for a new LNP administration committed to improving productivity.

Just last week, the government re-established the Queensland Productivity Commission “to drive down cost pressures and drive-up productivity as part of a fresh start for Queensland”. Treasurer David Janetzki said the commission was needed to cut unnecessary red tape to encourage creativity and innovation and build a highly skilled public service to deliver better and more services.

He said the commission’s first order of business would be a comprehensive review of the state’s construction sector, presumably involving the cost and implications of the previous government’s BPIC policy.

We’d suggest the commission go further and look for ways to improve public sector productivity and use the findings for some hard-headed negotiations with the unions.

We appreciate that these things take time and it’s fair enough for the unions to demand pay increases to take account of inflation. And we understand why Premier David Crisafulli doesn’t want to start a fight with the unions – the ghost of Campbell Newman still hovers in the background.

In any event, his bigger immediate challenge will be maintaining cabinet solidarity in the face of efforts by the police, teachers and nurses to break away from the government’s current central wage policy – which would apply a blanket increase to all workers – and strike their own deal.

It’s still early days for the Crisafulli government and maintaining good relations with your workforce makes obvious sense. But sooner or later the government is going to have to start making some hard decisions and among them needs to be a forensic examination of the work practices and conditions that have built up in the Queensland public service over the past decade.

META EXPOSED FOR WHO THEY REALLY ARE

Thanks to one angry Australian, Facebook’s parent company Meta has been exposed for its callous disregard for the wellbeing of its billions of users.

Yesterday in a US district court, Mark Zuckerberg’s company was ordered to disclose key information about how its advertising technology had facilitated scammers.

The court heard that 230,000 fake ads appeared on Meta’s sites featuring mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s image. The ads use Mr Forrest’s likeness to promote fake crypto currency and other fraudulent investments.

Australians have lost millions to the scams. But thankfully, Mr Forrest has deep enough pockets to try to make Meta accountable.

Mr Forrest’s legal counsel Simon Clarke said Meta had finally been exposed. “This isn’t just about criminals using the platform to defraud Australians, Meta’s own tools have played a role in amplifying these scams, and the court has rightly ordered full transparency into how its advertising technology operates,” Mr Clarke said.

Meta has now been ordered to provide more information about how its advertising systems process scam content. We look forward to it.

Let’s hope Mr Forrest’s small legal win can be the start of something bigger, where tech companies are at last held accountable for the damage they cause – the scamming of the elderly, the mental health impacts on our kids, the damaging proliferation of porn, the epidemic of bullying and resulting suicide, and the glorification of abuse and misogyny.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here