Ms O’CONNOR – Just for some clarity here, the peak body funding that’s in the A3 of $941,000 – is that an extra election commitment? Is that the indexation uplift or –
Ms OGILVIE – What was the number?
Ms O’CONNOR – Peak body funding in the budget paper allocation 2024-25, original, and it doesn’t seem to have changed – oh, it has. Can you explain this $941,000 that’s allocated towards peak body funding? Is that an election promise?
Ms KELLY – My understanding was that was a general uplift across a number of the different peaks –
Ms O’CONNOR – Is that a recurrent uplift?
Ms KELLY – No, a one-off.
Ms O’CONNOR – A one-off election promise uplift? You can partly see why we’re in such difficult financial circumstances when you see the amount of money that’s floating around for some of these projects. I have no issue, for example, with Men’s Sheds, but there’s more than half-a-million dollars here allocated towards the Sorell Men’s Shed.
Ms KELLY – I understand that the peak body was through an election commitment for 2024.
Ms O’CONNOR – I thought so.
The Treasurer, in producing his interim budget, has, as I understand it, written out to community sector organisations flagging there’s a budget coming up in May, and instead of requesting budget solutions, has asked the community sector, effectively, how they can do more with less –
CHAIR – Or what can they cut.
Ms O’CONNOR – Or what can they cut. That’s right. ‘Do more’, because the demand on their services continues to increase. Implicit in that is that there will be less money. What’s your understanding, minister, of what the Treasurer has asked the community sector to do?
Ms OGILVIE – I received a copy of that letter, so I read that letter –
Ms O’CONNOR – Is that the first time you knew about it; when you read that letter?
Ms OGILVIE – I had conversations with the community sector.
Ms O’CONNOR – The Treasurer didn’t tell you?
Ms OGILVIE – Sorry, can I do one question at a time? I share your concern about this sector. I would love it if we had a lot more money for this – also for the arts, all those sectors where things are a little bit lean – but we are where we are. We’ve just had an election. We’ve got a budget constraint. I think you’ve had the Treasurer in here today, probably talking about that. I didn’t watch it, so I didn’t know what he said, but we are where we are. We have the money that we have. The new budget cycle opens – I think it’s open now for community submissions. I have very much encouraged everybody to put their submissions in as they would in any normal budget cycle, and I’m hoping for a good response.
Ms O’CONNOR – To clarify, you said you’ve seen the letter from the Treasurer. Was that the first time you knew that the Treasurer would be asking the community sector to identify savings?
Ms OGILVIE – I think the Treasurer was keen to deal directly with people, which I do as well; so I was happy to receive the letter, but I’ve had conversations with people about the letter they received and their response. I think it’s fair to say there was some concern. I’ve worked with them as much as I can one-on-one and said, ‘Put your budget submissions in. You have got to get your submissions in, and let’s work through. We’re dealing with what we’ve got, get the submissions in and we’ll work through the process.’ I want people to feel confident that the submissions will be taken very seriously.
Ms O’CONNOR – The community sector is manifestly already operating on the smell of an oily rag, as they have for a very long time.
Ms OGILVIE – It’s a difficult situation.
Ms O’CONNOR – Do you understand that as minister, that there’s actually no fat in that system?
Ms OGILVIE – I think what you’re saying is that it’s a very difficult economic environment, not just within government, which we appreciate, but people on the frontline are doing everything they can with what they’ve got. I absolutely appreciate that and want to be a strong voice for the sector, and I will. The best thing I can do right now is help communicate to the sector to please get your budget bids in and I will be an advocate for you around the budget table.
Ms O’CONNOR – Being a strong voice for the sector also means, for example, dealing with the Treasurer, who might be trying to get blood from a stone.
Ms OGILVIE – That was a statement. I don’t think it was a question.
Ms O’CONNOR – Oh, I can give you a question. Are you going to engage directly with the Treasurer on the fact that the community sector is already structurally underfunded for the level of need that it tries hard to meet. As a strong advocate for the sector as you self-describe, will you engage with the Treasurer directly on the fact that the sector doesn’t have fat in the system?
Ms OGILVIE – I’m always happy to engage directly with the Treasurer.
Ms O’CONNOR – But have you on this issue?
Ms OGILVIE – Yes, I have, I always do.
Ms O’CONNOR – But the first time you knew about it was when you saw the letter.
Ms OGILVIE – We have a situation where we have budgetary constraints. We have budget, it’s open. Now is the time to get your budget bids in and that is the moment at which they will be assessed by the Treasurer. There will be opportunity for me to have direct conversations with him in support of the sector. I have to say it’s not just this sector that is concerned. The budget constraints are very real. We’re dealing with what we’ve got, and I will be a voice for people who need support through that process. I deal directly with all of my cabinet colleagues, and we have the conversations we need to have.
Ms O’CONNOR – Do members representatives of the community sector express to you their frustration that on the one hand they didn’t ask to suggest how they might have their funding cut and on the other you’ve got a government that’s spends like a drunken sailor, and we see it here and wants to deliver us a new stadium, our third stadium. Does the sector raise that with you? Because that gets talked about in the community, these choices.
Ms OGILVIE – I’ve absolutely heard from sector members who are very worried about the community and about the people they serve. The conversations have been pretty gritty, but it’s actually been to their great credit about the people in their local communities that they’re worried about making sure that they’ve got food, that they’ve got connection, that they continue to deliver the services that they want to deliver. So that’s a context within which they express their frustration, and I’d give great credit to them for that I know they work really hard.
Ms O’CONNOR – I think they are worried about stadium austerity and how it will impact on the services they provide to Tasmanians that need them.
CHAIR – While we’re on the budget challenge you’ve identified. Right at the top of the page here, is the budget efficiency dividend that is required across this area, which is in this budget year 35,000 then 52,000 for the next three years. How can that possibly be achieved in a in a sector that’s pretty well under resourced and trying to do more with less?
Ms OGILVIE – I will actually, yes. Is that okay if you could address that?
Ms KELLY – That budget efficiency dividend will come from our staffing and also from our non-salaries operating budget. It won’t go directly to any of the organisations.
