Government News has more from the killing grounds as “natural attrition” meets the same grim realities as “turning back the boats”:
An all staff email from Agriculture Department secretary, Paul Grimes, candidly admits that “natural attrition in recent months has proven to be lower than forecast” and that the department is now making “arrangements for a voluntary retrenchments program to further reduce our staffing levels.”
Mr Grimes’ recognition that natural attrition rates are materially less than anticipated is a double headache for the government because the retrenchments planned for Agriculture are a bitter hangover from the previous Labor government’s loathed efficiency dividend.
With threats of massive layoffs, who could possibly have predicted that natural attrition levels would fall??
Geniuses.
kakosi said :
I was thinking more in terms of the amount of dollars I managed to save out of my fortnightly pay over the same period.
Robertson said :
It’s only easy money if you can sell it and buy a cheaper or same value home with that money.
dtc said :
I don’t know about that – the house I bought for $140k in 1998 had cost its owners $210k in 1994, and sold for close to $400k 5 years later. Easiest money you can make. As long as you don’t buy in Bonython or Crace, or any other worthless woopwoop suburbs.
thebrownstreak69 said :
Sad but true.
Robertson said :
Robertson said :
Absolutely. Look at all those working poor who swept in and snapped up all those lovely homes in the US when their bubble burst. There’s practically no homelessness any more.
Oh, hang on…
thebrownstreak69 said :
Except for property investors.
thebrownstreak69 said :
Good. They’ll come down even more.
It’s ridiculous that the jerry-built rubbish that passes for housing in this country attracts the ludicrously over-inflated prices it does.
In fact, I won’t be looking at buying a house next year – what I *will* be doing is making an extremely low-ball offer to a desperate builder in dire need of financing his matching his/hers pair of beamers/coastal property/collection of assorted power boats/jetskis/etc…, for him to do a number of projects around my house that I have been holding off on for a number of years in the expectation that this day would come.
Buy low, sell high.
I am amazed at the people who have been buying houses at today’s prices – one in my street sold the other day, I assume for some ridiculous $700K+price. Haw haw, fools and their money, eh?
Robertson said :
Shame no-one will be able to get finance to buy them.
gungsuperstar said :
Good. House prices should come right down.
Successive government have managed to f*** agriculture in Australia so I can’t see much use for a department of agriculture
The bloodbath continues…
900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.
Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)
“Killing grounds”? Oh please. What an insult to people who have actually experienced “killing grounds” like Cambodians under Pol Pot or those caught up in Hutus vs Tutsis. I take it that you do know what the expression means. No wonder most Australians loathe us.
And, if past experience is any guide, people will be queueing up for VRs when they are (inevitably) offered.
Genie said :
Gosh, do they have to take 3 times as many coffee breaks as well? They’ll end up so wired they may be in danger of doing some actual work!
harvyk1 said :
Staff are usually given a “redeployment” period. Where say in the next 6 months they can look for work or the department will take all measures to find them a new role.
Yes they will be given a payout.. less salary paid during the redeployment period.
Genie said :
You sure about that, whilst I’m no employment expert when I received an involuntary redundancy a few years ago I also received a payout beyond just outstanding leave.
I do believe that small businesses are not required to hand out redundancy payments (thanks to work choices), but I thought medium / big / PS are required.
Pitchka said :
Sadly, if the ACT government cannot rehome them, they will have to be culled.
Pitchka said :
The required number of staff are made involuntarily redundant. It’s not really rocket science.
davo101 said :
Natural Attrition isn’t just for workers taking their 54-11.
This includes non-ongoing staff, staff who leave to take jobs elsewhere and just aren’t replaced. Could be that people on Mat leave aren’t covered for the 12 months they will take off. Roles may even be merged together so one person is doing the work that 3 people previously did.