Shadow Treasurer Rob Lucas said today documents released under FOI have now revealed that the Weatherill Government had given a separation payout to a 79 year old public servant.
“This is yet another example of a massive waste of taxpayers’ money at a time when Mr Weatherill is closing the Repatriation Hospital and cutting Emergency Departments and other health services,” said Mr Lucas.
“Documents now released under FOI show that eight public servants aged 70 or over received separation packages during the period from July 2013 to December 2014.”
The following table includes all departments with the exception of SA Health which has not yet responded to the FOI.
|
Age bracket
|
TVSPs offered
|
TVSPs accepted
|
|
60-64
|
306
|
194
|
|
65-69
|
52
|
52
|
|
70-74
|
6
|
6
|
|
75-79
|
2
|
2
|
|
Total
|
366
|
254
|
This table shows that the Weatherill Government offered 366 TVSPs of which 254 TVSPs were eventually accepted. These numbers are likely to be increased when SA Health numbers are included.
“The Auditor-General’s Report indicates the average cost of each TVSP in 2013/14 was approximately $120,000,” said Mr Lucas.
“This means taxpayers paid an estimated $30 million for TVSPs for public servants aged 60 and over.
“Long-serving public servants were being paid up to about two years annual salary as an incentive to retire.
“Only Mr Weatherill and Mr Koutsantonis could believe it makes any financial sense to be paying 70-year-olds up to two years’ salary to leave their jobs.
“No private sector employer would ever contemplate such financial madness.
“Whilst the Government announced at the election it would introduce a new policy of forced redundancy it was not actually implemented until early this year. In fact under the new policy the first forced redundancies will not be implemented until early next year.
“Budget papers indicate that taxpayers spent $267.9 million on TVSPs during the period November 2010 and April 2014.
“This is yet another example of the financial mismanagement and incompetence of Mr Weatherill and Mr Koutsantonis, which has led to massive deficits and ballooning debt.”