Taxpayers could cop $150m redundancy bill as Minns looks to cut number of highly-paid bureaucrats
One of the state’s most powerful unions is calling for Premier Chris Minns to “immediately” axe generous golden parachutes for sacked senior executives.
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One of the state’s most powerful unions is calling for Premier Chris Minns to “immediately” axe generous golden parachutes for sacked senior executives.
It comes as The Daily Telegraph can reveal that taxpayers could be slugged almost $150 million in redundancy payments under the Minns government’s plans to slash the numbers of highly-paid bureaucrats by 15 per cent.
Public Service Association General Secretary Stewart Little welcomed Mr Minns declaring that termination payments for senior executives should be wound back.
The comments came after it was revealed Police Commissioner Karen Webb spent more than $700,000 terminating four media spinners, and a further $400,000 firing Deputy Commissioner Mick Willing.
“We absolutely agree with the Premier’s comments that senior executives shouldn’t be receiving huge payouts for not doing their job,” Mr Little told the Telegraph.
Mr Minns has now ordered a review of how to change the rules governing the payouts.
The PSA said that review will just be a waste of time.
“We don’t need an investigation, Premier Chris Minns and Treasurer Daniel Mookhey must simply change regulations to stop exorbitant ‘golden parachute’ payouts to top bureaucrats,” Mr Little said.
“The Minns government has inherited over 4265 senior executives. They were elected on a platform of reducing that number by 15 per cent.
“How will they justify the hundreds of millions of dollars required to deliver these termination payouts? And how will they fund them?”
If the government moved to reduce “senior executive service” numbers by making roles redundant, it would cost $145.4 million in termination payments, according to Parliamentary Budget Office analysis.
The analysis examined a Coalition policy, before the election. Former Premier Dominic Perrottet wanted to slash the public service by firing fat cats. Labor, in contrast, wants to rely on “natural attrition” to avoid the redundancy bills.
Generous termination payments of 38-weeks salary were introduced in 2014, under the then-Coalition government.
Before then, senior executives were still able to be sacked for no reason, but received far less generous severance payments.
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