‘No job cuts’: New Queensland Premier David Crisafulli tells public service

New Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has written to the state’s 260,000 public servants assuring them that their jobs are safe after Labor accused him of having ‘secret plans’ to inflict widespread cuts.

David Crisafulli is sworn in as Queensland Premier by Governor Jeannette Young in Brisbane on Monday. Picture: NewsWire / John Gass

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New Queensland Premier David Crisafulli has written to the state’s 260,000 public servants assuring them their jobs are safe after Labor’s election campaign attacks claimed he held “secret plans” to inflict widespread cuts to the bureaucracy.

Hours after the Liberal National Party leader was sworn in as the state’s 41st premier, alongside his deputy Jarrod Bleijie, Mr Crisafulli moved to guarantee his government would oversee “a strong and stable public sector”.

Referencing the sacking of 14,000 public servants under the Newman government, in which he was a cabinet minister, Mr Crisafulli said he was mindful of the impact and would not make the same mistakes.

“While there may be some initial realignment in leadership and in machinery of government changes to effect these new policy and priority settings, there will be no employment cuts to the public service workforce,” read the letter, seen by The Australian.

“Any views you may have heard otherwise, are completely untrue.

“Having seen the impact of job losses in the past on the productivity and morale of the public service, I will not be repeating those actions.

“It is vital we invest in the strengths and capability of the public service so it can address the future needs of this state.”

While assuring “workforce” jobs were safe, Mr Crisafulli foreshadowed further changes in the upper-echelons of the public service after he dismissed Steven Miles’s top bureaucrat, Mike Kaiser, on Sunday morning.

Mr Crisafulli has appointed as his acting director-general David Mackie, a veteran public servant who served as Public Sector Commissioner and justice department head during the Palaszczuk-Miles Labor government.

Well-placed sources have revealed the “axe will be swinging” on other directors-general in the coming weeks as part of a large re-scaling of departments to meet the new government’s policy priorities.

The Australian has been told Mr Crisafulli did not want to give out golden handshakes to the department chiefs he intended to replace, and would let some shorter-term contracts “run their course”.

Mr Crisafulli confirmed on Monday there would be changes to his frontbench, which would be sworn in later this week, with a new Olympics portfolio expected.

“It is apparent that we have to make some machinery of government changes to make government work better,” he said.

“The people who you have seen and who have done a really good job, will be the people who will be rewarded.”

Mr Crisafulli said Mr Bleijie would “remain (in) that senior leadership team” alongside David Janetzki, who was the treasury spokesman in opposition, as well as Ros Bates, who was opposition health spokeswoman, and Dale Last, who was opposition mines spokesman.

Mr Crisafulli said his reshuffled frontbench would be sworn in by Friday, giving new ministers time over the weekend to prepare for their first cabinet meeting next Monday.

Ministers will be issued with charter letters, setting out timelines and targets they will be held accountable for, with Mr Crisafulli vowing to sack underperformers.

“One of the things that every minister will have in their charter letter is a really clear guidance that I want them to leave One William Street and go out and speak to public servants right across the state, and I want Queenslanders to see them as well.

“It’s important that they get to see the minister take real, genuine interest in what they’re doing.”