Labor Waste

Senator David Bushby

As well as being the formal channel through which Opposition Senators are able to query major government decisions and departmental operations, Senate Estimates always provides fertile ground for digging up some of the more quirky aspects of Labor’s waste that go unnoticed in the media or might otherwise never see the light of day.  

The $24.25 million spent on the establishment of the Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions is one such example of Labor expenditure that was relatively unnoticed by the media, other than a couple of tiny online articles, but instigated a heated reaction under questioning at estimates from Minister Carr, who struggled to explain the purpose of the Centre which ensured that greater media interest ensued. 

The last round of Senate Estimates held in May were particularly fruitful, revealing the $110,000 flower bill at Government House, the $61,000 National Carbon Offset Standard Logo, the $1,000,000.00 spent on pot plants for the Department of Education and the $10,000 spent on tree removal and possum collars for trees at Kirribilli House and the Lodge, to cite just a few lesser known examples of Labor’s reckless spending.  

When questioning the ACCC who appeared before the Economics Committee, I inquired into the renovations to their new Sydney office.  It was revealed that this fit out cost $4.5 million, for an office that currently accommodates only 100 staff members.  That equates to $45,000 per staffer. 

The office is designed for a maximum of 150, and whilst it is indeed prudent for the ACCC to plan for an increased staff in the future, even at 150 people it equates to $30,000 per head. 

To top it all off, the implementation of IT facilities in this new office was totally bungled and caused significant inconvenience to staff and resulted in reduced productivity over a three to four week period once employees had moved in.

The ACCC is a vital department and I am not suggesting for a moment that it should not be provided with adequate facilities to enable the effective conduct of its business.  

However at a time when the Gillard Labor Government is slashing $2 billion from family payments, cutting mental health by ripping $580.5 million from GP mental health services and allied health treatments sessions from the Better Access Initiative and threatening Australians with yet another great big new tax through carbon pricing, I am saying that $45,000 per head for an office refurbishment for 100 employees is a bit rich by anyone’s standards. 

I daresay that the struggling Australian families and workers, battling with an ever increasing cost of living under this Gillard Labor Government would agree with me too.

Do you have your own story of Labor's waste, inefficiency and mismanagement of taxpayer's money? Hold them to account and tell us on the Tip-Off page.