Lundy returns fire on the efficiency dividend

bd84 said :

The Government needs to stop pretending and making excuses and rectify the funding issues.

Let’s here some positive suggestions please! More taxes perhaps? 🙂

While a lot of people may not know the different types of funding government entities receive, there are some of us who do. Trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the general community by releasing a misleading media release like this is pretty low.

It needs to be pointed out that the Senator is comparing different types of Government funding. The projects listed are funded through one off capital injections (i.e. equity), efficiency dividends are imposed on expenditure and the revenue contributions the Government provides to cover this expenditure (i.e. income statement).

They have no relation to each other, the Government could be funding many capital projects and it will still be imposing efficiency dividends. For example, the National Museum will have some lovely expanded exhibition space, but no staff to adequately staff it or to provide tours, or the High Court’s leaking roof might be fixed but they may need to stop cleaning the building every night.

The Government needs to stop pretending and making excuses and rectify the funding issues.

And this is what the efficiency dividend is all about Kate. Sure, funding hasn’t been cut – but reading between the lines, ‘comparable with previous years’ certainly doesn’t sound like there’s been any funding increase.

Meanwhile, inflation is an inescapable part of life, and people expect wages to at least keep up with it. Yet the government expects that any salary increases must be paid for via ‘efficiency dividends’. Not to mention costs to run the place, which must also increase along with inflation.

I don’t work for a cultural institution, but I do work for a smaller agency (sub 1000 staff). Whenever Enterprise Agreement time comes up, it’s a struggle to find further efficiencies. We’ve been doing this for over 10 years now, and there’s only so much fat you can cut before you begin to hit the muscle.