Treasurer Mike Nahan has labelled opposition leader Mark McGowan’s plan to slash senior executive positions and bring in new key performance indicators as ‘not credible’.
Treasurer Mike Nahan has labelled opposition leader Mark McGowan’s plan to slash senior executive positions and bring in new key performance indicators as ‘not credible’.
Mr McGowan said today that a Labor state government would reduce the number of senior executive service positions by 20 per cent, introduce up to 20 new KPIs and have 20 per cent of director general and CEOs’ salaries linked to those indicators.
“I’m seeking real change across the public sector, where key people from different departments and agencies actually talk to one another to solve the problems confronting our state,” Mr McGowan said.
“Our new KPIs will be more than just words, they will be linked to 20 per cent of the salaries of directors general and CEOs to ensure under a government I lead, we will be outcomes driven for the community.
“Ultimately these KPIs will not only measure the performance of my government, but it will define my success as premier.
“These reforms will also go a long way to help put the state budget back on a more sustainable footing.”
But the plan was branded as not credible by Dr Nahan, who told reporters outside parliament today that Mr McGowan’s claims to be fiscally responsible didn’t hold water.
“There are 108,000 in the general public sector, and I think about 500 in the senior level; you do not control overall expenditure by firing people at the top,” Dr Nahan said.
“More importantly, he has gone out there and over the last few months he has announced 11 additional departments, all of which have to have a CEO and senior executives.
“He is so far expanding the size of the senior public service, not reducing it.
“You need overall control; taking out the bosses, reducing the pay of the bosses by 20 per cent is not the solution. I might add, he is going to have to fire people.
“Since 2012 there has been zero growth in the public sector numbers, and we’ve done that by very careful control, reorientating labour force to the front line services, restraining the growth in back office including senior executive service, and we’ve done that without firing anybody.”
Dr Nahan also called Mr McGowan out for not revealing Labor’s plan to repair the state’s finances, after the opposition leader said the plan would only come closer to the March election and there ‘was no magic bullet’.
