Media release – Guy Barnett, Treasurer, 2 March 2025
Refocusing the public service on what matters to Tasmanians
A hiring freeze on all non-essential staff within the State Service will be implemented as of today.
While the Tasmanian Government will continue to bolster its recruitment efforts to employ doctors, nurses, paramedics, teachers and police – action is needed to implement the Government’s Fiscal Strategy.
Treasurer, Guy Barnett, said that Tasmania needs to have the right-sized public service.
“One that operates as effectively and efficiently as possible, meets the needs of the community and provides value for money.
“The Government must consider every taxpayer dollar it spends. That’s what Tasmanians expect.
“We will be working with the state service to increase productivity and better focus the capacity and capabilities of the workforce, including through digital innovation.
The Government acknowledged that there has been a significant increase in the number of state service employees over recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The rate of growth has been greater than the rate of growth in the Tasmanian population,” the Treasurer said.
“The hiring freeze will assist in ensuring Tasmania has the right-sized state service and delivers on the priorities of Tasmanians.”
Media release – Helen Burnet MP, Greens Workplace Relations spokesperson, 3 March 2025
Liberals Must Reverse Public Service Cuts Decision
The Rockliff Government should immediately reverse its deeply misguided decision to freeze recruitment in the public services.
The public service is absolutely essential to Tasmania and Tasmanian communities. It supports services in critical areas like health, education, housing, and child safety. But rather than investing to support these areas like they should, the Liberals are making cuts instead.
The government is charging ahead with these cuts to so-called ‘non-essential’ roles despite the fact they can’t even define what a non-essential worker is. It’s no wonder they’re having trouble – every role in the public service matters, and any cuts will have an impact on the delivery of essential services to Tasmanians.
It’s alarming to see just how fast the Tasmanian Liberals have taken up the Donald Trump and Peter Dutton playbook of taking the axe to the public sector workforce. It seems Treasurer Guy Barnett must have got some bright ideas from the far-right figures he rubbed shoulders with at a conservative conference in London last month.
The Greens stand strong beside unions and Tasmanians from all walks of life in rejecting this decision. If Liberal politicians want to fix the budget, they should be scrapping the stadium and making big corporations pay their fair share, not making cuts to the public service.
