Hansard for 26/05 Estimates is out. Links for
ATsB, CAsA, ASA
The former Labor Govt '
savings through stealth' program and the former miniscule Albo's spin & bulldust was touched on briefly in the ATsBeaker Estimates segment. From the ATsB Hansard:
Senator FAWCETT:When did the budget pressures commence that led to your requirement to bid for supplementary funding around redundancies?
Mr Dolan: We had been signalling for a considerable period of time that the forward estimates would require us to reduce our staff, because we had found all other savings mechanisms and used them already. Having had discussions with various parties, we concluded that to find a sustainable position going into the next financial year, 2014-15, we needed to undertake a redundancy program with our staff. As a result of that, by the start of next financial year we will have reduced our staff by 12 from 110 to 98.
Senator FAWCETT:So that funding that you are applying for is coming from the funding that was given to finance as part of the MYEFO process, is that correct?
Mr Dolan: That is correct.
Senator FAWCETT:In practice, then, these 12 staff that you are losing, you are losing because of decisions of the former government, but the current government is having to fund it because the former government, whilst leading to the redundancies, did not fund you to actually make those people redundant?
Mr Dolan: The decisions in relation to staffing were based on the forward estimates as they were recorded in the portfolio budget statements in the last budget. We had contemplated a staff separation program from our own resources, given that we had reserves. But, given there was a government policy decision to make funding available to support those staff separations, we applied for it and had success as a result.
Not that he had any credibility before, but this is what the audacious Albo said in parliament on the 18 March 2014 (warning weasel words incoming..
)...
“….As I mentioned earlier, Labor supports a bipartisan approach to aviation safety. It is too important to be a political battleground. However, there is a role for an opposition to raise concerns about the direction of some government policy, and earlier this month there were reports that the government was considering staff cuts of up to 20 per cent in the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. The ATSB employs 110 people. They investigate accidents, safety concerns and near misses in air, sea and rail transport.
These cuts should not be considered by government. There is a need to quarantine ATSB—just like CASA and other safety organisations, like the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Their task is simply too important to cut corners by cutting costs and cutting staff, and I would hope that the government maintains at least the support that is there for these agencies…”
Even the
man at the back of the room can see the spin in that statement from Albo...
. I guess that is typical SOP for pollies the calibre of Albo these days...
, but what about the rumour of a 20% further cut to the bureau staff?? Later in the ATsBeaker segment, under questioning from Senator Sterle, puts that rumour to rest:
Senator STERLE: Mr Dolan, page 165 of the PBS shows the program 1.1 expenses table, where it talks about you guys having to do some serious downsizing through one of your programs and how you can operate on a financially sustainable footing from 2014 to 2015. There is no doubt that there seems to be a large drop in resourcing for ATSB's operations following the staff reductions—11 per cent, I think it is, on last year, which is on page 172. Are you aware of the government's request to make savings of $60 million across the Infrastructure and Regional Development portfolio?
Mr Dolan : I am aware of a proposal to make savings to industry as a result of changing the regulatory framework—
Senator STERLE: Mr Mrdak, can you confirm it is $60 million?
Mr Mrdak : That is the portfolio target to reduce costs to industry, yes.
Senator STERLE: Since September, Mr Dolan, has the department requested further savings from your agency on top of that?
Mr Dolan : We have been given an initial indicative figure.
Senator STERLE: There is that word again: indicative. Keep going.
Mr Dolan : There is a current review of the overall framework. Within that, our major regulatory intervention is our mandatory reporting program.
Senator STERLE: So, indicatively, how much are you looking at trying to save?
Mr Dolan : The indicative figure for the ATSB is $7 million.
Senator STERLE: Do you reckon you will get there?
Mr Dolan : My apologies, it is seven per cent, which is $4 million.
Senator STERLE: How do you reckon you will go?
Mr Dolan : What we have to review over time is whether there are more efficient ways of helping people mandatorily report occurrences to us. That is the mechanism that we have to look at in terms of improving the impact on industry.
Senator STERLE: Forgive me, but what does that actually mean in English?
Mr Dolan : Some of the steps we are already taking include better web enabled reporting, drawing on the existing systems of operators and so on for notification of occurrences, a potential review as to whether we are seeking over-reporting from particular elements of the industry and so on—to make the mandatory reporting program, which is fundamental to safety, work more efficiently.
Senator STERLE: I am just a bit worried when we talk about safety and trying to find efficiencies through agencies after you had an 11 per cent downsizing program last year—was it 11 per cent?
Mr Dolan : Yes.
Senator STERLE: I would think that would be a very difficult figure to achieve. How long do you have to try to achieve that $4 million saving?
Mr Dolan : That was an indicative first-year figure, as I recall it. We will review what we can and form an assessment as to what, as you say, in a safety focused regulatory framework we can reasonably achieve in reducing costs to industry.
So Albo/Mrdak/Beaker rubberstamped the cuts to, what some would say is the bureau's most valuable resource, staff. Yet Beaker now believes, that through other efficiencies, he will be able to make a $4 million saving over the forward Estimates, certainly get a sense of this Muppet's priorities while he remains in the CC position...
Hopefully those dozen redundancies were not frontline staff...
Oh well moving on..
Unlike the embuggerised bureau & Fort Fumble, ASA of late seem to be copping less scrutiny in Estimates. However there was an interesting moment when AVM (active) Staib bristled when being questioned by Senator X on the operational introduction of the Integrated Tower Automation Suite (INTAS):
Senator XENOPHON: And can you assure me that as a result of this specific line of questioning there will not be any emails or oral communication to your staff for this line of questioning? I am just worried about the issue retribution.
Ms Staib : That is a serious suggestion.
Senator XENOPHON: I am not suggesting that you will do it; I just want to know that you will not be doing it.
Ms Staib : Absolutely not. We value our just culture in Airservices and all these faults are reported by the air traffic controllers so we can investigate them.
Senator XENOPHON: But perhaps I can suggest to you that while 'just culture' is absolutely critical in aviation, given the nature of the industry and the nature of what you have to deal with that was not necessarily the case under your predecessor. I know you cannot comment on it, but I am just suggesting to you that that was not necessarily the case.
Ms Staib : You know that we have been working on a culture program in Airservices, and one of the values that I have added to the values for Airservices is the value of courage, and that is specifically about having the courage to speak up, speak out, challenge managers and leaders, because it is very important that people do that to maintain those safety aspects that you refer to.
Hmm..
'Just Culture' within ASA is a touchy subject for Ms Staib...
. Pity we don't have the same dedication & understanding by the other muppets on the importance of upholding the principles of
'Just Culture' within the other agencies..
Anyway here is the poohtube segment for those interested: