Shannon Deery: No holiday for Allan govt as tough negotiation with key workers loom

Victoria’s police stations are closing, officers are quitting, the health system is broken and schools are understaffed and as the holiday season approaches, the government is in the grip of war.

As we head into the silly season, the Allan government remains in the grip of war with thousands of Victorian workers.

Parliament might be over and work slowing as we near the holidays, but the government is fighting battles on numerous fronts over proposed wages deals with firefighters, police and public servants.

Next month the workplace agreement for the state’s paramedics is due to expire.

It’s a tough one to negotiate with no money in reserve and a desperate need to rein in government expenses.

An update on the state’s finances is due this week, and no one is expecting it to be pretty, which will make the government’s position that much harder.

Mediators have been called in to help reach deals with the fireys and public servants.

The police are on strike, and sources familiar with those negotiations say they ground to a halt following a seven-minute meeting last Tuesday.

The Allan government remains in the grip of war with thousands of Victorian workers. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

While police promise the strike action will not affect community safety, the situation will not help the already battered morale of officers.

Staff surveys suggest morale in the force is at an all-time low.

Almost three out of four of the state’s 16,000 officers say they are burnt out and more than one in four say they want to leave the job.

Victoria Police has slashed the opening hours of 43 police stations amid its ongoing resourcing crisis.

This move alone has increased pressure on other stations and limited services to the public.

Police are fighting with one hand tied behind their backs. They want a 4 per cent wage increase, slightly higher than the government’s 3 per cent wage rise cap, and nine-hour shifts.

While the government is playing hardball with police, they have desperately tried to get a new deal signed with fireys.

While police promise the strike action will not affect community safety, the situation will not help the already battered morale of officers. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Under the proposed deal, firefighters would score an upfront payment of about $7000 and a 12 per cent pay increase over four years.

There would be additional annual cash bonuses of about $2000 per firefighter.

The militant firefighters union has said no thanks as it fights for $117m in bonuses before agreeing to sign on to a new wage deal.

The union representing 56,000 Victorian bureaucrats is fighting for a formal pilot program for four-day work weeks across various worksites, a 20 per cent pay increase over four years, and enshrined working-from-home provisions, including a right to work from home.

The government risks being held to ransom during negotiations by the very people it needs to be working on its behalf.

But it cannot simply give in to ludicrous demands, such as increased pay for reduced hours, as being fought for by the state’s bureaucrats.

As it stands, Victoria’s debt burden is double that of NSW, according to latest budget forecasts.

While NSW net debt is forecast to grow to $113.6bn by 2026-27 – or $38,000 for every household – Victorian projections have debt rocketing to $171bn by the same time. That’s almost $70,000 for every household.

Ambulance Victoria again failed to meet its target response times for urgent cases in the last quarter. Picture: David Geraghty

But the true difference between the states is apparent in comparisons of debt as a share of the economy.

While the NSW net debt is now projected to peak at 12.6 per cent of GSP by 2026-27, Victoria’s is on track to hit 24.5 per cent in the same time.

Ratings agencies have raised concern about Victoria’s growing debt, with warnings it could derail future infrastructure projects and the state’s credit rating.

At the same time the state’s health, housing and schools systems are in crisis. These are core government responsibilities.

Ambulance Victoria again failed to meet its target response times for urgent cases in the last quarter.

Almost one third of emergency department patients waited too long for treatment.

The waiting list for public housing grows longer by the day. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

And more than one third of ambulance patients were forced to wait more than 40 minutes to be transferred to the ED.

Victoria’s plan to build its way out of a housing crisis is in disarray, with new home building approval figures plunging to their lowest level in a decade in October.

The state government might have grand plans to build 80,000 new homes a year for the next decade, but no one in the housing industry believes it can actually be done.

Meanwhile, the waiting list for public housing grows longer by the day.

And in the education system, a chronic staffing shortage is reaching new crisis levels, with some schools receiving no applicants at all for vital teaching jobs.

It’s prompted warnings from nine in 10 principals that some classrooms won’t have teachers next year.

Police stations are closing, officers are quitting, the health system is broken and schools are understaffed.

If the government can’t see a way to negotiate with key workers, it could all get a lot worse.

Happy holidays.

Shannon Deery is Herald Sun state politics editor