DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY
INDUSTRIES AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT — REDUNDANCIES
822. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the Minister for Agriculture and
Food:
I refer to the article titled ''GRDC
warns that divestment cuts deep'' in the Farm Weekly on 13 September
2018.
(1) Can the
minister please provide a breakdown of the number of full-time equivalents and
the headcount within each of the agriculture and food, fisheries and regional
development branches of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional
Development as at 1 July 2016 and 1 July 2018?
(2) How many
employees—FTE and headcount—within the Department of Primary
Industries and Regional Development have been made redundant since July 2017?
(3) In reference to (2), what was
the total cost of these redundancies?
(4) How many employees—FTE and headcount—are
working across more than one area within the department?
(5) Given
staffing cuts within the Department of Primary Industries and Regional
Development, what assurances can the minister provide that the department has
the capacity to continue its high standard of research and development in the
agricultural sector?
Hon DARREN
WEST replied:
On behalf of the Minister for
Agriculture and Food, I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1) As at 1 July
2016, the Department of Agriculture and Food FTEs were 958 and the headcount
was 1 009; the Department of Fisheries had 487 FTEs and a headcount of 522; and
the Department of Regional Development had 159 FTE and a headcount of 166. As
at 1 July 2018, the FTEs at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional
Development was 1 581 and the headcount was 1 687. Note that as of 1 July 2017,
the department has operated as an integrated organisation and includes the
staff of the nine regional development commissions.
(2) From 1 July
2017 to September 2018, redundancies in DPIRD were 133 FTEs, a headcount of
142.
(3) The total
cost of redundancies from 1 July 2017 is $15 060 917.
(4) The
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is operating in an
integrated fashion and staff routinely work across functional and
organisational boundaries. Therefore, it is not possible to define how many
staff are working across functions at any one point in time.
(5) The Minister
for Agriculture and Food has placed a high priority on maintaining and building
our agricultural research and development capabilities. DPIRD has brought
together its R&D capabilities into one functional area. There are more than
300 FTEs in this area. DPIRD has recruited 15 grains researchers over the past
three years and is building its skills in grains R&D across the wheatbelt.
The department has also recently employed two new young scientists in
horticulture research on water use efficiency and crop physiology. DPIRD
continues to focus on linkages and collaboration with a range of research
organisations to maximise its R&D impact. In May 2018, DPIRD opened new
purpose-built facilities at Northam. The $11.5 million investment in new
research infrastructure and equipment will support ongoing R&D in the
grains industry. The facilities will complement DPIRD's other grains
research facilities at Geraldton, Albany, Esperance, Katanning and Merredin.
New investment in the 2018–19
budget includes $10 million per year to underpin a long-term co-investment in
applied grains research and development, in partnership with the Grains
Research and Development Corporation in the areas of agronomy, integrated
farming systems, soils productivity and crop nutrition. In February 2018, DPIRD
and GRDC signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and deliver a portfolio
of applied grains research and development projects, known as the western
region cropping initiative.