Agriculture Efficiency Gains a Smokescreen

The Public Service Association says the NSW Agriculture figures supplied in support of Corporate Service Reform prove that the only gains to be made are through job cuts.

"The documentation provided to us at our meeting with the Department today clearly identifies a planned reduction in staff from 62 to 32 and identifies a saving of just $1.5 million," PSA Assistant General Secretary, Shane O'Brien said today

"Their own figures expose claims of improved efficiency as nothing more than a smokescreen for job cuts that will hurt small regional communities," Mr O'Brien said.

The documents show that the so-called reforms will cost Wollongbar Community $779,000, Yanco Community $594,000 and Camden Community $661,000, yet the Department couldn't say how long it would take to achieve their stated $1.5 million savings.

"Given the modest savings, the indeterminate timeframe to achieve them and the Minister's boast on ABC radio that the Agriculture budget contains an extra $34 million there's no real economic arguments that justify the disruption of 44 families and the damage this will do to their local communities," Mr O'Brien said.

"The documentation provided today backs up my initial claims that these reforms really amount to forced redundancy by stealth and the 'move or be made redundant' position of the Department is indeed industrial bastardry at its worst," Mr O'Brien said.

Mr O'Brien also called in to question the basis for the decision to close full and part time courses at Murrumbidgee Agricultural College in Yanco.

"It seems obvious that the decline in enrolments at Yanco has occurred during the worst drought in living memory and therefore should not be used as the basis for the decision to shut down the bulk of the Colleges operations," Mr O'Brien said.

"I will be visiting Yanco on Thursday to discuss these matters with the effected staff and to meet with community representatives about the impact these two issues will have on the local economy," Mr O'Brien said.