Scrapping the valuation office

Ian said :

Can’t say I have a problem with this. It provides a service that can easily be purchased from the private sector as needed, and I fail to see any compelling reason for government to do its own work in this field.

The good staff will end up working in the private sector companies doing the work for the Commonwealth, the rest probably didn’t need to be employed to do the work anyway.

Holy crap, is that naive!

No, the workers at the AVO will end up on the dole queue along with thousands of other public service workers.

I can’t speak for JB, but the way I read his intro was that Libs will outsource as much as they can to their mates in the top end of town so a) they keep their donations coming b) there are jobs for them when they get turfed out and c) they can impose their hatred of the loyal staff who work for them.

Outsourcing isn’t as simple as the 200 APS workers going to work for whoever tenders for the work – it kind of defeats the purpose of outsourcing if the private sector are going to have the same staff expenses as the Government did.

They did go to the polls about wanting to be big on Infrastructure, which means compulsory acquisition of land, and the AVO would have valued it. Going to private valuers, who’s going to say which private valuation is correct? It will all end up in court and the lawyers will get their cut.

As any other public sector agency wanting the AVO to value something has to pay it on a commercial basis, what purpose does it serve when those agencies can (and do) easily hire private sector valuers? Typical Dr Leigh bollocks, everyone is owed a living at the taxpayers expense even if the agency being abolished isn’t required.

Can’t say I have a problem with this. It provides a service that can easily be purchased from the private sector as needed, and I fail to see any compelling reason for government to do its own work in this field.

The good staff will end up working in the private sector companies doing the work for the Commonwealth, the rest probably didn’t need to be employed to do the work anyway.

A business model that relies on Centrelink for most of its income? Sounding like thry are on a dole queue.

The Australian Government Solicitor does not seem under threat.

Some of the AVO people might find work directly, or indirectly with the ACT Government, which currently uses the AVO to assess unimproved land values, according to this:

http://www.revenue.act.gov.au/duties-and-taxes/rates/rates-land-valuations

The increasing focus (for well known reasons…..) on rates based on land values in the ACT presumably means that there will be more challenges to valuations, increasing pressure for robust, defensible etc. etc. valuations and thus an increased demand for at least some of the expertise which currently resides in the AVO.

In other news “…..the Government is axing the office that conducts compliance valuations for Centrelink…..” – what are they thinking of? have they consulted the shock jocks and the tabloid current affairs shows???

PS – love the comment at #2 about Labor spivs.

Scapping?

Labor’s spivs are mostly working full time in the superannuation sector with 9% of everyone’s incomes so they’re a bit tied up.

it’s pretty disingenuous to suggest this was done so “Liberal spivs can bid to rip off the Commonwealth while pretending to do the work”…

Are you trying to suggest that Liberal’s are the only gang suckling at the teat of the commonwealth? Or that a Coalition Gov only does things to benefit it’s voter base? That Unions don’t exist? That Greens don’t want money for hippy (misad)ventures?

Ah RiotACT – it must be exciting to pretend you are more than a blog….