New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has taken an alarming turn down a Trumpian road with his sacking of 300 people critical to understanding flood risk in the state – in the midst of probably the worst flood season yet seen.
The news was revealed last week by The Mandarin, which said it was part of 1515 government jobs lost in the previous two weeks.
“In a series of downsizing measures not publicly foreshadowed in the recent state budget, multiple agencies have begun letting go of thousands of staff, prompting key unions to question whether vanity spreadsheets have blinded the Minns government to critical outcomes.”
The article also said the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) also cut 165 jobs considered vital for natural disaster response and in controlling pests like fire ants and varroa mite.
According to the ABC, the DPIRD said this amounted to a 4 per cent cut in staff numbers, with three quarters of the culled workforce headquartered in Orange, west of Sydney.
DPIRD secretary Steve Orr told the ABC it was a “challenging decision” that was “not taken lightly” and tempered some of the 1000 staff numbers added by the coalition after Covid.
NSW Nationals leader and shadow agriculture minister Dugald Saunders described the move as “cruel” and “gut-wrenching” for country communities.
Australian Services Union NSW & ACT secretary Angus McFarland said: “This decision to cut hundreds of essential water jobs is a devastating blow to the workers and the communities they serve each and every day. It’s outrageous that WaterNSW is slashing hundreds of jobs at a time when their expertise and labour have never been more essential.
“With climate impacts escalating, it’s hard to see how a state-owned corporation can justify cutting the very jobs that protect our water and communities.”