CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, BUDGET CUTS

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:29): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Correctional Services a question regarding correctional services budget cuts.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: On 15 February, The Advertiser published a story regarding Treasurer Foley's public sector budget cuts due to the worsening financial situation in South Australia. Included in the article was reference to an email from the chief executive of the Department for Correctional Services advising that DCS would be losing 30 FTEs over the next three years. Mr Severin's email stated:

Correctional officers, professional officers and education instructors are exempted and no staff in these categories will be declared a redeployee or offered a TVSP.

However, Mr Severin did not exclude administrative staff located within the prisons. Concerns have been raised with the opposition that any reductions in administrative staff in prisons is likely to place an increased administrative workload on correctional services officers—officers who are already trying to cope with record overcrowding. The minister admitted yesterday that prisons, such as Port Augusta Prison, are understaffed. My questions are:

1. Will the minister guarantee that administrative staff based in prisons will be exempted from the budget cuts?

2. If not, will the minister give an assurance that correctional services officers will not be required to take on an additional administrative workload as a result of the staff reductions?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order, the Hon. Mr Finnigan and the Hon. Mr Ridgway!

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Road Safety, Minister for Gambling, Minister Assisting the Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:31): Clearly, the honourable member is referring to the mid-year budget review, information that was released last December, where the government outlined the decision to ask agency chief executives to reduce—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: I think he has had a meeting with a particular group of people—their FTEs, but that would occur across several financial years. The Department for Correctional Services has 22 FTEs in 2009-10; an additional four FTEs in 2010-11; and a further four FTEs in 2011-12. That makes a total of 30 FTEs. That information has already been placed on the record, although I do not believe it was mentioned in The Advertiser article.

I need to emphasise that, in general, the frontline correctional officer, the professional officer and the educational instructor positions are exempt from this process, and no staff occupying frontline positions in these key categories will be declared redeployees or will be offered a targeted voluntary separation package.

As an interim measure, and to ensure appropriate consideration of the department's business strategy and workforce requirements, the Chief Executive circulated an email to all staff instructing that there be an immediate freeze on advertising in the notice of vacancies section in the external press, which information was reported in the newspaper.

As I have said, what is important here is that, in general, frontline correctional officers, professional officers and educational instructor positions are exempt from this process. As I have placed on the record on several occasions, the department undertook an aggressive recruitment campaign last year. We are continuing with that campaign to ensure that our prisons are well staffed and that our community is secure, and for the honourable member to suggest that anything else is the case is nonsense.