WASTED DOLLARS

I have a question for you on this first day of a new week. What is “organisational revitalisation”?

Or try this one: What is “knowledge management”? You should know because the State Government has spent at least 500 million dollars of your money in recent years on consultants to tell them all about it.

It is the Page One lead story in the Herald Sun today. And it prompts the obvious questions. What do we pay our politicians for? What do they pay our public servants for? If they have to go outside the public service for advice worth hundreds of millions of dollars then sack them.

This is Noddyland. The Department of Human Services has spent nearly forty million dollars in recent years on consultants’ advice. What then do the people in the department actually do?

It is an old joke but it is worth retelling. Why aren’t public servants allowed to look out the windows in the morning? Because they’d have nothing to do in the afternoons.

I mean, this is fiscal madness. The Department of Human Services spent 38 million dollars on consultancy fees in four years. Imagine how many human services that could pay for?

The Victorian Workcover Authority spent more than 25 million dollars on accountants and professional consultants. What do their fulltime staff actually do?

This is madness. This is, as I said, Noddyland. Half a billion dollars for consultants when this State Government has bloated its staff in recent years.

Why would the Department of Justice need consultants? They must have a raft of their own legal eagles with their noses in the trough. They have spent nearly forty million dollars.

Why would the Department of Infrastructure spend more than 20 million? Why do they need a “Department of Intrastrucure” anyway. It’s the new buzz word.

Why would the Department of Treasury and Finance – supposedly our monetary experts need to spend nearly seven million dollars on consultants? They are meant to be the experts. And if they are not then sack them.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation spent nearly nine million dollars. Melbourne Water spent more than eight million. The Victorian Channels Authority – whatever that is spent seven and a half million dollars.

I ask again what do the fulltime public servants – and the full-time politicians – actually do?

Monday June 6, 2005

©Copyright Derryn Hinch 2005