INTERACTIVE MAP
Brisbane's state budget highlights
Katherine Feeney brisbanetimes.com.au has mapped an overview of proposed capital outlays by the Queensland government in 2012-13, as well as a summary of the government's approach to infrastructure provision within Brisbane's city limits.
Public service news
Premier, ministers quizzed at hearing
DANIEL HURST Senior ministers including Premier Campbell Newman and Treasurer Tim Nicholls faced questions on the first day of budget estimates committee hearings at Queensland Parliament.
Fire job cuts sparks heated hearing
DANIEL HURST Plans to slash Queensland’s rural fire service support staff were “very badly received”, a senior bureaucrat admitted at a budget committee hearing last night.
CMC slashed amid donations review dispute
DANIEL HURST Queensland's corruption and crime watchdog has lost about 40 temporary and casual staff and will have some 30 positions cut, a budget estimates hearing has been told.
Feds step in to protect public service conditions
TONY MOORE Federal Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten will this week introduce legislation into Parliament so Queensland public servants facing outsourcing agreements can keep the same pay and conditions they had as public servants.
No ads, one candidate in major public service job
DANIEL HURST The Queensland government searched for a new chief procurement officer without advertising the vacant position and appointed the only candidate it considered for the role.
'You were not the most capable person'
DANIEL HURST Queensland Health employees told they have made a “significant contribution” but their roles are no longer needed, according to a leaked script.
Public service to be 'so much better'
BRIDIE JABOUR Premier Campbell Newman says he hopes public servants will think their lives are much better in three years' time.
Axing of vet lab project 'costly, risky'
DANIEL HURST Briefing notes cast doubt on Newman government's claims about savings from axing a $20 million biosecurity lab project in Townsville.
Healthy lifestyle programs' funding cut
DANIEL HURST The Newman government is shaving another $4.4 million off the annual Queensland Health grants program.
Distress 'off the Richter scale' as Queensland Health searches for savings
DANIEL HURST Nurses are experiencing “off the Richter scale” distress as Queensland Health boards look for savings, the union says.
Public services cuts 'never to be repeated'
DANIEL HURST Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has sought to assure people the worst of the budget cuts is over.
Spin check: 'Secret' plan to cut 41,000 jobs
DANIEL HURST Was the Newman government stretching the truth when it argued the former government had a "secret plan to remove up to 41,753 public servants?
Few public servants gamble on redeployment
DANIEL HURST Just 69 Queensland public service employees have so far declined a voluntary redundancy offer in the hope of finding a new departmental position.
No-one's being sacked: Newman
DANIEL HURST Queensland Premier Campbell Newman hits back at critics who describe the loss of 14,000 public sector positions as sackings, insisting no permanent employee had been fired.
Thousands march against Newman budget
Staff reporters Thousands of public service workers attended a series of co-ordinated protests against the Newman government's first budget.
Government grief spills into bars
TONY MOORE She leaned back in her chair, surrounded by four friends.
Queensland Health takes brunt of redundancies
TONY MOORE More than 4100 Queensland Health employees will be paid redundancies, the Newman government revealed as it detailed the 14,000 public service jobs to go in one of the largest-ever transformations of the state's public service.
2700 jobs to go from Queensland Health
Tony Moore and Daniel Hurst The Newman government has confirmed 2754 jobs will go from Queensland Health, with Health Minister Lawrence Springborg announcing the cuts in a video address to staff this morning.
Hockey praises Campbell's 'courage' as Queensland announces more job cuts
PHILLIP COOREY THE federal Coalition has applauded the ''incredible courage'' of the Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, as he sacked another 2754 state public servants today.
Costello hits back at audit critics
Former Howard government treasurer Peter Costello has hit back at an analysis that accused him of exaggerating Queensland’s budgetary woes.
Anxious weekend for public servants
TONY MOORE Close to 2000 Transport and Main Roads staff will have a restless weekend after finding out they will be told by telephone on Tuesday – the day of the Queensland budget – whether they still have a job.
Spin 'not targeted' as communications jobs axed
TONY MOORE The Newman government has rejected suggestions it is specifically targeting "spin doctors" for redundancies, but it can be revealed at least 130 media and communications jobs are going from its six largest portfolios.
Backlogged forensic centre to lose staff
TONY MOORE Further outsourcing of work done by the state government’s main forensic laboratory could lead to problems with security of the scientific evidence trail, scientist and Together Union president Vivienne Doogan warned today.
Bushfire educators face the axe
MARISSA CALLIGEROS The Newman government has confirmed at least four bushfire education officers for the Rural Fire Service will lose their jobs next year.
Job cut drip feed continues while union battle builds
DANIEL HURST Nearly 700 public service job cuts spanning three Queensland government departments have been announced over the space of two days.
Another 280 jobs to be axed
DANIEL HURST Another 280 Queensland public servants are set to lose their jobs, with the Newman government today confirming cuts to positions in two departments.
Public sector pay deal set for arbitration
DANIEL HURST The dispute over a new pay deal for tens of thousands of Queensland public servants will proceed to arbitration.
Abbott to mirror Newman on job cuts: Swan
Treasurer Wayne Swan says Queensland government plans to cut public service jobs reveal the federal coalition's intentions.
Public service cuts finalised as Newman puts budget to bed
Daniel Hurst The Newman government has finalised the extent to which cuts will occur across Queensland's spending, but public servants face another fortnight's wait to see the result.
Union starts ads over public sector cuts
Queensland’s public service union began airing commercials yesterday attacking the state government’s job and service cuts.
Clive delivers Hope for sacked public servants
BRIDIE JABOUR Mining magnate Clive Palmer pledges $250,000 to establish "hope fund" for public service workers facing sack.
Abrasive Newman gives Labor a lift
PHILLIP COOREY Opinion Fancy an elected leader likening people's jobs to dog poo. Boil it down and that's what the Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, did last Thursday.
ALP treating workers unfairly: Government
DANIEL HURST Queensland’s Attorney-General has accused his Labor opponents of treating public servants unfairly, arguing the opposition was treating employees nervous about their future as a “political football”.
Hundreds march on Parliament
DANIEL HURST Hundreds of teachers have rallied outside Queensland Parliament, just hours after firefighters and ambulance officers staged a noisy demonstration against proposed changes to workplace agreements.
NGOs told they are right to remain silent to keep funding
DANIEL HURST The Newman government has been accused of trying to gag community organisations from pushing for legal changes as part of new funding agreements.
Newman's poll slump as cuts polarise voters
DANIEL HURST Nearly half of Queensland voters believe Premier Campbell Newman's cuts have gone too far, with support for the Liberal National Party plunging 12 percentage points since last month, a new opinion poll suggests.
Nicholls stands by job cut rationale
DANIEL HURST VIDEO INTERVIEW: Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls has defended his government's claim that the state has 20,000 more jobs than it can afford, and sought to explain its origins.
'Guards must be consulted over jail changes'
DANIEL HURST The Newman government must consult with prison guards over plans to scale back jail workshop operations, the industrial umpire has declared while ordering striking employees back to work.
Guilty pleas over the line
TONY MOORE Queensland prisoners could plead guilty by teleconference calls from prison as the government tries to find savings from the $11 million it spends annually driving prisoners to and from court.
'Public servants, unions the chief cut critics'
BRIDIE JABOUR The people who care about public service job cuts are those losing their jobs and union officials, according to Premier Campbell Newman who said no one has offered an alternative to get the state budget back in the black.
Push to privatise prison escorts
TONY MOORE The Newman government is looking to privatise prisoner escort services between prisons and courts after a similar recommendation in New South Wales in 2011.
Public servants open to pay freeze trade-off
DANIEL HURST VIDEO INTERVIEW: Queensland public servants would be prepared to consider a pay freeze in return for job security protections, key union leader Alex Scott has declared.
Unions to launch legal challenge against removal of job security protections
Unions representing public servants will launch a legal challenge against the Queensland government’s ability to sack employees "at the stroke of a pen".
Premier and deputy lack front-line staff
TONY MOORE Departments run by Premier Campbell Newman and Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney both had no front-line positions, according to a public sector staff audit completed in June 2012.
Health cuts could hurt 'if you did it wrong'
DANIEL HURST Queensland's health minister has acknowledged a reduction to administrative positions could increase burden on frontline health workers if the changes were done in the wrong way.
Front line redrawn, sparking fears
BRIDIE JABOUR The State Government has changed the definition of frontline workers which puts more public servants at risk of losing their jobs.
The psychology of redundancy
BRIDIE JABOUR According to psychologists there are a range of emotions attached to redundancy: anxiety, depression, embarrassment, irritability, inability to think clearly, ‘‘catastrophising’’ and even relief.
Clinic plea rests on personal experience
TONY MOORE A recent case of a woman - who later tested positive for tuberculosis after sitting in a Brisbane emergency ward coughing over patients, staff and visitors - will be used by a peak doctors’ group as a plea not to close the specialist TB clinic.
Cuts 'distressing' for ministers too: Seeney
TONY MOORE Every government minister was facing ‘‘terrible, distressing times’’, deputy premier Jeff Seeney said, amid confirmation jobs would be lost with the merger of QBuild and Project Services.
Housing and Public Works DG resigns
TONY MOORE The director-general of Queensland’s Housing and Public Works department, Natalie MacDonald, has this resigned amid rumours of impending major job cuts in the department.
From 'Best Job' to no job for Qld tourism chief
Tony Bartlett The man who devised Best Job in the World campaign is now out of a job amid government overhaul of Tourism Queensland.
JPs to rule at Queensland tribunal
Justices of the peace are to be given decision-making roles in the Queensland Civil Administration Tribunal (QCAT) under a trial by the state government.
Fisheries, agriculture, forestry cuts: first wave
TONY MOORE About 200 public service jobs will be lost in the first wave of job reductions in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Minister John McVeigh has confirmed.
Newman turns to umpire over pay dispute
DANIEL HURST The Newman government has lodged an application with the industrial umpire in a bid to resolve the public sector pay dispute.
Rail network maintenance 'piecemeal'
DANIEL HURST Cuts to Queensland Rail's corporate spending will help fund the recommendations of an audit into maintenance on the southeast rail network, minister days.
Health takes shape ... and learns from BMW
TONY MOORE This week the new-look Queensland Health took lessons from car manufacturer BMW’s push into China.
Doctors alarmed by health decentralisation
Queensland doctors are alarmed at the state government’s decentralisation of health services, the state’s medical association says.
TB clinic's future up to new board: Minister
TONY MOORE Nurses at the Queensland Tuberculosis Control Centre where a protest rally was held will be offered new nursing positions as the centre closes, Springborg's spokesman says.
Jobless public servants battling preconceptions: recruiters
BRIDIE JABOUR Are preconceptions public servants are lazy hindering their employment chances after being made redundant? Do prospective employers think they will struggle to adjust to a roster that is not 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday?
First public sector strike bid fails
DANIEL HURST Queensland's public sector dispute appears no closer to being resolved after a meeting between Treasurer Tim Nicholls and a key union leader was called off due to a squabble over who would attend.
Public sector stance 'balanced' says Treasurer
DANIEL HURST Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls will argue the government is “making balanced judgments” when he meets with a key union leader today to discuss the public sector pay dispute.
Agriculture Minister prepares for cuts
TONY MOORE Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister John McVeigh won't say how many jobs are set to be cut from his newly-created department of 2620 staff, but says reports it will be up to 500 are ‘‘absolutely ridiculous’’.
TB power shift sparks protest
Daniel Hurst and Tony Moore Nurses will today rally outside the tuberculosis co-ordination centre at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, amid fears over plans to hand back responsibility to local health boards.
Mowing rebate claims cut down
DANIEL HURST The Newman government has denied changing lawn mowing rebate rules for the Home Assist Secure program, which helps seniors to remain in their homes, following Labor claims of penny pinching.
Public service union gets set for strikes
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman won’t immediately put a new pay offer for public servants to the vote, after a union said it was doomed to fail.
Has Newman broken public sector promises?
DANIEL HURST Analysis of union claims that Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has broken election promises over his plans for the public service.
Court combination plan to save money
TONY MOORE The Queensland government is considering saving money by combining the three special purpose magistrates courts, one of its backbenchers has confirmed.
BreastScreen shake-up 'won't alter checks'
DANIEL HURST $44 million budget for BreastScreen Queensland services would continue to grow, Queensland Health declared amid fears over changes to the successful cancer check program.
'Wait and see': Newman coy on cuts
Amy Remeikis Premier Campbell Newman said public servants must "wait and see" what services and jobs will be cut when the state budget is handed down next month.
Court record service remains in limbo
DANIEL HURST The jobs of public servants who produce official records of court proceedings remain in limbo, with Queensland Premier Campbell Newman again refusing to confirm their positions.
Public service 'DIY' redundancies
TONY MOORE Doubts have been raised over the ability of the state government's 700-strong Shared Services team to assess each sacked public servant's pay-outs.
Unions prepare to unleash 'mayhem'
MARISSA CALLIGEROS Queensland could be plunged into "mayhem" when unions stage a statewide day of strikes after the Newman government hands down its first budget in September, as part of a 1000-day campaign against public sector job cuts.
We can't handle the truth?
Conal Hanna Campbell Newman hasn't exactly been upfront with public servants. Is it his fault or ours?
Job security tops employees' wish list
KATHERINE FEENEY Long-term job security tops the list of five factors most important Queenslanders in or looking employment, according to new research by a major recruitment and HR Service Providers.
Cross river rail must be low-cost: Newman
DANIEL HURST Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has vowed to keep working to reduce the cost of the proposed new cross-river rail project to deal with Brisbane’s looming capacity woes.
Opposition demands TB answers
TONY MOORE Shadow Health minister Jo Ann Miller challenges Health Minister to explain why the government wants to close down Queensland's main tuberculosis research centre at the PA Hospital.
Doctors offered 2.5 per cent pay rise
Queensland's salaried doctors will gain an annual pay rise of 2.5 per cent if they vote to support a new pay offer from the state government.
Government paves way for outsourcing
TONY MOORE The LNP Government opened the door to extra public service work being outsourced in one of two public service "directives" issued yesterday.
'Absolute disaster': TB centre faces closure
TONY MOORE Plans to close Queensland's main tuberculosis treatment centre at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital were an "absolute disaster", according to one of the state's leading respiratory physician.
State debt 'manageable' with corrective action
DANIEL HURST A member of the Newman government's audit commission clarifies his comments, saying the level of state debt is manageable “but only if corrective action is taken as a matter of urgency”.
Doubt over wages debt claim
DANIEL HURST One of the members of the Newman government-appointed audit commission has admitted the state is not borrowing to pay public servant wages, a union leader claims.
Job cuts in public service
brisbanetimes.com.au's live coverage of the fallout from Tuesday's announcement that 2000 jobs are to go from the state-sponsored transport sector, as well as hundreds of jobs in QBuild, a teachers rally and other public service-related announcements, has ended.
Two thousand jobs to go in transport
DANIEL HURST Nearly 2000 jobs will be cut from Queensland’s Transport and Main Roads department and related bodies as part of sweeping Newman government budget cuts.
Internal auditing to be outsourced?
DANIEL HURST Audit functions within Premier Campbell Newman's department could be shaken up, with external contractors set to be brought in to take over work previously done in-house.
Premier confirms 300 QBuild jobs to go
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has confirmed jobs will be lost from QBuild, which does construction and building work for government agencies.
Teachers to rally as standoff continues
Georgia Waters Six weeks after rejecting the state government's offer for a new enterprise bargaining agreement, Queensland teachers and principals will rally this evening to protest the offer that they say will strip away teaching and learning conditions.
Heritage shake-up a matter of 'refreshing'
TONY MOORE The Queensland Heritage Council would not be wound up, Heritage Protection Minister Andrew Powell said this afternoon after revelations members of the QHC board had been asked to resign.
Not so Together: Union blamed for job losses
MARISSA CALLIGEROS Public servants are losing their jobs because unions failed to campaign strongly enough for Labor at the last election, Paul Howes says.
Watch for Olympic job cuts: union
KATHERINE FEENEY The Newman Government will take advantage of widespread Olympic Games coverage to avoid scrutiny as more departmental cuts are “rushed out”, a union leader has warned.
Government veil of silence over cuts
DANIEL HURST The Newman government has left the door open to outsourcing court transcription services as part of its cost-cutting drive, but is refusing to comment on its plans.
TransLink expected to return to the fold
TONY MOORE An announcement on the new structure of Department of Transport and Main Roads has been delayed because of talks over the future of TransLink.
QR executives to lose bonuses
MARISSA CALLIGEROS QR executives don't deserve bonuses when patronage is declining, the government says.
Nurses secure a 3 per cent pay rise
DANIEL HURST Queensland nurses have ticked off on a deal granting them pay rises of 3 per cent a year and improved Sunday night penalty rates.
Pay freeze could have saved jobs: Newman
MARISSA CALLIGEROS Premier Campbell Newman says unions would have been better served proposing a pay freeze for the public sector, rather than opposing cuts.
LNP appointees 'don't need the money'
Premier dismisses nepotism claims, saying many of the highly paid people appointed by his government see their work as civic duty.
Disability boost will have to wait: Newman
DANIEL HURST The Queensland Premier has argued the state could not afford to help fund an NDIS trial site, while confirming 5000 public servants had lost their jobs since the LNP came to office.
Hints of new chapter for literary awards
Dan Nancarrow Arts Minister Ros Bates is open to creating new government-funded literary awards, but only if the awards are exclusively open to Queensland writers.
Business unfazed by Spanish comparison
TONY MOORE Queensland business leader defends Premier Campbell Newman invoking Spain's economic woes while talking about Queensland's budget.
Government sheds another 200 jobs
DANIEL HURST More than 200 employees are set to lose their jobs as the Queensland government pares back the operations of GoPrint, closes a QFleet workshop and winds down a logistics arm.
Number's up: state on its own on budget focus
DANIEL HURST The Newman government has set itself a higher hurdle as it tries to return to surplus, focusing on a budget measure largely ignored by other state treasurers.
The 2012-13 Budget
Coal-fired bid to get budget back in black
The government will extract an extra $1.6 billion from coal miners.
Queensland Health takes brunt of redundancies
More than 4100 employees will be paid redundancies.
Winners and losers
Winners and losers in the 2012-13 Newman-Nicholls budget.
The Watcher
Is this evidenced-based? Call the pollster to check
Politicians love best practice and evidence-based policy - or at least they love those phrases.
Weasel words come to the fore
There are two essential elements in any politician's armoury.
Road to recovery on the bodies of sacked workers
A lot of good people lost their jobs yesterday.
Time the public service union got its act Together
The trouble with white-collar unions is no-one takes them seriously.
The unintended consequences of job cuts
Queensland government ministers have been told that their budget cuts do not go far enough; are not deep enough.
Questions, guilt plague public service survivors
Colleagues who used to work together on projects are now competing for a job.
The drip becomes a flood
It started as sackings by drip. Yesterday, it became clear it would be sackings by flood.
Silence is golden
The information lockdown has quickly become a feature of this government
Frank and fearless advice... when it suits
Politicians live in a fantasy land. It's a basic part of their professional armour.
Public servants more than faceless pen-pushers
Politicians just love to be photographed with community figures.
Why Newman plays the numbers game
The Premier’s inability – or refusal - to nominate a number of public service job losses has more to do with political strategy than a lack of knowledge.
How to sack 20,000 Queenslanders (or more)
You would expect a fair bit of outrage if a new CEO came on board and promptly sacked between thousands of workers.
Nice work if you can get it
Being a politician is the only job in town where you don’t need any particular skills, you don’t need any particular experience and you can pick up a top-of-the-range salary for being on training wheels.
The winter of discontent
Welcome to The Watcher, brisbanetimes.com.au's new series of reports from inside the machinery of government.
