Daniel Andrews has tripled the number of well-paid public servants in Victoria since he came to power in 2014.
The number of public service executives, who can earn between $192,800 and $479,900, increased to 1,742 in June 2021 with 271 increase in the past year alone, the latest data recital.
When Mr Andrews came to power, the number was 647.
Daniel Andrews has tripled the number of well-paid public servants in Victoria since he came to power in 2014
The Prime Minister created a much larger Government while the private sector battled the world’s longest Covid-19 lockdown in Melbourne.
The city’s shutdown extends to 262 cumulative days of six closures since March 2020.
A Victorian Government spokesman said the increase in civil servants was needed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and the state’s biggest ever infrastructure agenda.
During the Andrews Labor government, 48,000 roles were created in the six years to June 2020, bringing the total staff to 381,200.
In the state budget before the Andrews Government took office, the wage bill for public sector workers was $21 billion but this figure is set to rise. $36 billion for the next fiscal year and to $39 billion for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
Melbourne’s closure extends to 262 cumulative days of six closures since March 2020
Robert Carling, senior research fellow at the Center for Independent Studies, said the outbreak was a major risk to the state’s finances.
He told Daily Mail Australia: “Victoria’s public sector pay rates are already far ahead of the rest of the country.
It was a major contributor to Victoria’s deficit and public sector debt. ‘
Victoria’s net debt is expected to reach $156.3 billion by June 2025.
‘If the state government wants to do something to control its budget, Carling said, then you have to solve the payroll problem in the public sector.
He also downplayed the 11.8 per cent pay rise for politicians during the height of the pandemic, saying: ‘If there’s ever been a wrong time to do it, it was then.
‘Optical systems are never good when the salaries of politicians are high’ but they were especially bad in the circumstances of last year. “
Cian Hussey, Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, said the Andrews government created two Victorias with a draconian no-door policy.
“The sanctions have destroyed businesses and cost private sector workers jobs and wages while public sector workers have thrived,” he said.
“As long as public sector workers, and especially politicians, keep this separate from the real economy, they will continue to impose lockdown measures because it costs them nothing.”
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton (right) can earn up to $360,000, matching his rank in public service in Victoria
