5 June 2017

Will Hodgman, Premier

Continuing to keep a lid on the costs of Government

The Liberal Government is continuing to keep a lid on our running costs.

While there will always be costs associated with running a government, we are conscious of the need to keep these as low as possible.

Over the past year:

• Ministerial interstate travel is down by around 20 percent, at $45,780 (last year, $58,979);
• Entertainment costs have continued to fall, and are now almost half what they were under Labor and the Greens ($34,546 compared to $65,092);
• Ministerial staff numbers remain less than under Labor and the Greens (81.9FTE compared to 83.2FTE);
• Both my office (13.2 compared to 18) and the communications office (9 compared 12) have less staff than under Labor and the Greens;
• Allowing for inflation, the total cost of running ministerial offices remains less than the four-year average under Labor and the Greens;
• Accommodation costs for Ministerial and Electorate offices is 30 percent less than under Labor and the Greens ($545,426 compared to $774,657)
• Taxi costs have continued to fall, and are now 45 percent lower than under Labor and the Greens.

I understand that spending on Ministerial staff, travel and the salaries of individual staff members will always attract attention, but the facts are, we are spending less than the former Labor-Green Government on these functions.

It should also be noted that my Government now routinely releases this information every six months, as part of our commitment to openness and transparency.

More Media Releases from Will Hodgman

More Media Releases from the Premier