The cash-strapped New South Wales government blew $1.25 million on expensive tropical plants for its own office, despite trying to save $3 billion by freezing wages.
Nurses, midwives and even firefighters are facing a pay freeze as the state implements dramatic cuts to save billions during the coronavirus pandemic.
But the NSW government signed off on the pricey three-year plant deal in April, when it would have been aware of the crippling recession ahead.
It claimed the plants would help the Department of Planning to be ‘environmental sustainable’.
Stewart Little, general secretary of the Public Service Association, said the spend on plants for the department’s Parramatta offices ‘beggars belief’.
‘To make matters worse … this was signed off in April of this year,’ he told 2GB.
‘[It’s] bad enough we’ve just got through the bushfires, bad enough we’re entering a pandemic … and obviously we’re being told to tighten our belts.
The pricey plant contracts will see decadent displays set up in the Department of Planning’s Parramatta offices (pictured, a similar display)
Teachers will be subject to the 12-month-long public sector pay freeze (pictured, a teacher helping children wash their hands at a newly opened school on May 26)
‘If this sort of thing goes through, well what else is going on?
‘The hypocrisy of government sometimes is breathtaking.’
But a spokeswoman for the department defended the spend, saying it complimented the building’s ‘green-star rating’ across 30 floors – meaning it meets environmental and sustainability goals.
The contract with Tropical Plant Rentals at the Parramatta Square office includes ‘supply, installation, watering, maintenance and replacement of indoor vegetation’.
The NSW is undertaking heavy budget cuts as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with an estimated $10-20 billion being slashed from the state’s revenue.
Gladys Berejiklian (pictured on May 31) hopes the NSW government can save billions by freezing the pay for thousands of public sector workers
The grim forecast forced the state government to launch a bid to freeze public sector wages for 12 months in a bid to save the $3 billion.
It was blocked in the Upper House on June, but the Liberal government still plans to try and introduce the freeze, which stops public sector workers getting their annual 2.5 per cent pay rise.
The PSA is battling the government over the proposed freeze.
Just last year, the NSW government slashed departmental budgets, including a $26.7 million cut for the Rural Fire Service, who faced their busiest bushfire season ever.
Fire and Rescue NSW was also cut by $12.9 million.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Planning said: ‘Environmental sustainability of the built environment is one of the key focuses of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.
The company provides modern green wall displays (pictured, another example) at a cost of $1.25 million for three years
‘The offices at 4 Parramatta Square will have a 5-star Green-Star Rating in accordance with the Green Building Council of Australia.’
But Mr Little went to tell the ABC the spend was inappropriate given the hard work done by public sector workers during the bushfire crisis and COVID-19 pandemic.
‘In the wake of the worst bushfire crisis we’ve ever seen, but also going into the COVID-19 crisis where really everyone’s had to work under very, very strained circumstances,’ he said.
‘And you’ve got a situation now where the Government’s seeking to impose a wage freeze.
‘To have one department sign up to well over $1 million on indoor plants — it’s just extraordinary.’
The $810 million redevelopment of ANZ Stadium has also been shelved as a cost-cutting plan.
Firefighters (pictured tackling the Gospers Mountain bushfire on December 21) will also see their annual pay rise scraped
People are seen queuing outside a Centrelink office in Sydney on April 14 (pictured) with the coronavirus crisis creating economic upheaval
On June 3, Australia officially plunged into a recession, with wide-raging implications for the country and its people.
A recession is when a country records two consecutive quarters of decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total value of the goods produced in the economy.
A combination of drought, bushfires and the coronavirus saw Australia’s gross domestic product shrink by 0.3 per cent in the March quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed Australia is in recession for the first time since 1991 as the economy is set to shrink again in the June quarter because of coronavirus.
Borders have closed, hampering tourism, and lockdown conditions completely shut down hospitality along with thousands of other business across different sectors.
The number of jobs on offer dropped 7.5 per cent between March 14 and April 18, ABS data showed.
Nurses will be subject to the public sector pay freeze, despite being on the coronavirus frontline (pictured, a health worker testing a woman for COVID-19 in Sydney on May 12)