McGowan calls on state to cut committees

The state opposition is calling on the government to cut the number of committees after claiming a review or taskforce is being established every five days since the September 2008 election.

Manager of Opposition Business Mark McGowan said over 45 new committees or reviews had been established since late September.

The government has also created six new agencies, each with their own new levels of bureaucracy - the Department of Commerce, the Department of Housing, the Department of State Development, the Department of Mines and Petroleum, the Department of Transport, the Department of Regional Development and Lands.

"Mr Barnett said the Government would reduce the number of committees, but instead he has put in place initiatives like the Administrative Review of the Cross Jurisdictional Data Linkage Program and the Environmental Data System Taskforce," Mr McGowan said.

"The surge in committees and reviews includes the appointment of political allies such as former Liberal Ministers Peter Jones and Peter Foss.

"This makes a mockery of the Premier's claim at a business lunch in March that his Government would be cracking-down on the number of advisory boards or government reviews.

"Once again Mr Barnett's rhetoric fails to match the reality.

"It also demonstrates the Barnett Government has no plan and no strategy for Government."

Mr McGowan said it was absurd that the Barnett Government was inflating the number of advisory committees while overseeing a public sector staff freeze and future job cuts.

Earlier this year, the government said it would cap the number of full-time equivalent employees in the public sector at 99,155.

"The Barnett Government has continued to talk itself up with standards it cannot meet," he said.

"It is time for the Government to get on with the job of governing and not put off issues important to the State."