Victoria’s public sector wage bill skyrockets by $2.5 billion following Andrews Government hiring spree

VICTORIA’S public sector wage bill has blown out by ­billions of dollars in the past two years following a massive hiring spree by the Andrews Government.

Victoria’s hiring spree has added more than $2.5 billion to the taxpayer-funded bill since Labor came to power. Picture: AAP/Julian Smith

VICTORIA’S public sector wage bill has blown out by ­billions of dollars in the past two years following a massive hiring spree by the Andrews Government.

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the number of public servants in Victoria jumped by 18,700 in the past two years — accounting for more than 80 per cent of bureaucrats hired by state and territory governments since 2013-14.

In the same period, the NSW Government slashed its public service by 8900 and its wage bill rose by just $256 million with salary increases.

Victoria’s hiring spree has added more than $2.5 billion to the taxpayer-funded bill since Labor came to power.

Other Labor-led states also increased their bureaucracies in the past two years, as state government wages blew out by $6.6 billion.

Queensland’s public service headcount hit 310,000 in 2015-16, swelling by more than 12,000, and cost taxpayers more than $1 billion extra in wage rises and hiring costs.

The South Australian ­bureaucracy rose by just over 2000, adding $542 million to the state’s wage bill.

The latest data comes just days after Victoria was forced to downgrade its predicted budget surplus from $2.9 billion to $1.7 billion amid souring ­employee expenses.

The latest data has ­triggered criticism from Canberra, where the Coalition has slashed public-sector jobs by 3100 in the past two years.

Treasurer Scott Morrison hit out at state Labor governments, accusing them of diverting Commonwealth cash — meant for health and education — into “union paybacks”. “The Coalition has dealt with the blowouts in the size of the Commonwealth public service under Labor, by returning it to the levels that were in place back in 2007,” Mr Morrison said.

“This restraint is in marked contrast to the profligacy of state Labor governments, who continue to pander to their public-sector union bosses through unsustainable ­blow­outs in public servant numbers and pay rises.”

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the State Government was forced into a hiring frenzy as the Baillieu and ­Napthine governments “went on holiday for four long years”.

Victorian shadow treasurer Michael O’Brien said the Andrews Government had cut frontline police and hired thousands of extra bureaucrats instead.

“Labor seems more interested in a politically correct public service than in keeping Victorians safe on the streets or in their homes. It’s no wonder that Daniel Andrews has become the highest taxing Premier in Victorian history”.