A leaked email shows Queensland’s fire commissioner told staff his department would continue to “find efficiencies and cost savings” as it faced claims that hiring was being stifled.
Treasurer David Janetzki has declined to comment on whether pressure on the Queensland Fire Department (QFD) and Transport and Main Roads (TMR) to manage vacancies strictly was being driven by the government.
This masthead has heard from staff in both departments – on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly – that such efforts exacerbated workloads and impacted morale.
In both instances, the filling of vacant administrative positions is said to have stopped or been slowed. Some transport staff are said to have been told of a “freeze”.
While the Transport Department has denied a freeze, the Fire Department has not.
Questions sent to the Fire Department by this masthead this week received a response yesterday from Fire, Disaster Recovery and Volunteers Minister Ann Leahy.
Leahy did not address questions about the internal processes, with a spokesperson instead saying in a statement the former Labor government had treated firefighters like “second-class citizens”.
“We are delivering a record number of new fire trucks and have added over 600 new recruit and auxiliary firefighters to our frontline so we can better protect Queenslanders,” they said.
A quote provided by the minister’s office, attributed to the department, noted there had been a net increase of more than 270 full-time equivalent positions since October 2024 – most in frontline firefighting roles.
But in a “Commissioner’s Update” to staff on Tuesday, obtained by this masthead, Commissioner Steve Smith was more direct, saying respecting public funds was a commitment.
Smith noted changes to engaging consultants and contractors, and continued efforts across the frontline and corporate areas to review and improve financial sustainability.
“We will continue to scrutinise how we operate to find efficiencies and cost savings,” he said. “This is occurring at all levels. Across the executive’s offices, a review is under way into the staffing model and those impacted are being consulted about options.”
Further comment has been sought from the department.
At a media conference on Tuesday, Janetzki would not say whether the government was pushing for the strict management of non-frontline vacancies.
“Let’s be clear about the public service. Last year in the budget, we committed … to an additional 6073 public servants across the public service, over 4500 of those in the health system,” he said.
“We are absolutely committed to a high-performing, high-functioning public service, and our record in investing more into the public service and empowering them to deliver more and better services is very clear.”
The latest Queensland budget featured a cap on non-frontline senior public servants until 2028, expected to save $18 million over four years.
Asked if there was any expansion of such measures planned for this year’s budget, Janetzki pointed to global economic uncertainty.
“There’s a lot of information that we’re still gathering,” he said.
“The uncertainty around the globe will have real-life impacts on the Queensland economy and Queensland households, but also the budget.
“We’ll go through that deliberative process of the budget very calmly and we’ll work that through in time for the budget on June 1.”
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Matt Dennien is a reporter at Brisbane Times covering state politics and the public service. He has previously worked for newspapers in Tasmania and Brisbane community radio station 4ZZZ. Contact him securely on Signal @mattdennien.15Connect via email.
