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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-06-19 Daily Xml
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PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (14:09): My question is to the Premier. Will the Premier update the house on the size of the public sector and what the government is doing to reform it?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Treasurer, Minister for State Development, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for the Arts) (14:09): I thank the honourable member for her question and I thank her for her role in assisting me in her function as parliamentary secretary to the Premier with reference to the public sector. Since 2002, the state government has significantly increased the number of employees working in roles providing direct services to the public.

We have hired more than 1,300 more doctors, 4,300 more nurses, 460 more emergency services employees, 800 more police officers, and 1,600 more teachers and school services officers. While delivering these extra services to South Australians, we have also sought to drive efficiencies. In the past three years, whilst we have seen a 3 per cent increase in the number of front-line workers as a percentage of the total workforce, we have also seen a corresponding 2 per cent decrease in our back office staff.

Since the start of the global financial crisis, we have implemented $5.5 billion worth of measures to reduce debt and we are committed to delivering more with the reduction of 5,000 full-time equivalents by 2016. On this side of the house, we have been clear about our policy on the state public sector. We have made it clear what efficiencies we are seeking to deliver and that we will not be hacking into the groups of workers we know the public relies on in times of need. While we continue to wait for those opposite to reveal their policies on these matters, the government is getting on with the business of—

Ms CHAPMAN: Point of order. While we continually wait to hear from those in the opposition, it is clearly debate.

The SPEAKER: The Premier should be offering the house information that updates the house on the size of the public sector and reforming it, so I will listen carefully to the Premier's reply.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I am sorry if a subordinate clause in one of my answers offends those opposite, but I will return to the substance which is that the government is getting on with the business of improving the quality and effectiveness of our Public Service. Through Change@SA, our public sector renewal program, we have accelerated the delivery of more efficient, innovative and effective services and the public sector is responding to the changes that we are making.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well, what they are telling us is that they are frightened of you lot; they are frightened of you ever occupying the Treasury benches and slashing into the services that people rely upon in times of need. They are excited about the changes that we are making which are meaning that people on the front line are being empowered to make the sort of changes that make a difference in our community.

One of the first projects we saw was the SAPOL fast-tracking court processes for relatively minor, victimless offences. So instead of having the lengthy exercise of a police officer going to a home, serving a summons and the first court date—all of the paraphernalia around that—this is an invitation to come into court; a quick guilty plea speeds up the matter; it saves a whole lot of heartache for people who are worrying about a court date and an enormous amount of administrative expense.

We have also seen a fantastic initiative around the criteria-led discharge in the Flinders Medical Centre which we are expanding to the rest of the system—something that we had trouble with cracking for a very long period of time—the notion of nurses discharging patients who are well. This had been the province of doctors in the past, but with criteria-led discharge, we have enabled nurses, under very careful criteria, to ensure that patients who are well can go home early, and it means that doctors are not taken out of the important work that they need to do to ensure that they are treating patients who are unwell. It is freeing up enormous resources, another example of public sector efficiency, and we continue with a series of these further 90-day projects which are spreading culture change around the public sector.

Ms Chapman: As important as this subject is, the time has expired.

The SPEAKER: No, the time has not expired and accordingly, I call the member of Bragg to order. The Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Thank you. A second round of these 90-day projects has begun with a focus on red-tape reductions and online services, providing passengers with real-time information through smartphone apps about where buses are and when they will arrive; enabling parents to register their child's birth online; making the process of getting a driver's licence simpler in the remote APY lands; and also reducing red tape by streamlining immigration procedures.

Time expired.

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