Qld: Budgets face squeeze from Y2K payments

AAP General News (Australia)
12-29-1999
Qld: Budgets face squeeze from Y2K payments

BRISBANE, Dec 29 AAP - Queensland's police and health departments are facing a budget
squeeze in the new year after being hit with part of the bill for a one-off Y2K payment
for staff.

The state's treasury department had agreed in November to meet the cost of a $250
payment for rostered staff.

But it has since announced only 75 per cent of the payment would be met for police,
and 80 per cent for health workers, with the rest paid by the departments.

Queensland Treasurer David Hamill said the annual wages budgets of both departments
would not be affected by the reduced funding allocation from the budget committee.

"The government has provided additional financial support to each department to assist
them in ensuring staff turn up for duty on New Year's Eve," Mr Hamill said.

But the police and nurses unions have predicted budget blowouts in both departments
as a result of being forced to meet the rest of the cost of the payment.

Queensland Police Union of Employees assistant secretary Merve Melling said the state
government had panicked after making a giant oversight in promising to fund the Y2K payment.

"I don't think Treasury realised how much it was going to cost."

"If there is a murder or prison escape, the police budget will be in trouble because
those sort of things put a big squeeze on overtime."

He said rosters for New Year's Eve would probably be reshuffled rather than cut back
as a result of the cost burden from the one-off payment.

A spokesman for Queensland Police Minister Tom Barton said all holidays were cancelled
over the period and up to 5,000 police would be on duty across the state that night.

Meanwhile, Queensland Nurses Union secretary Gay Hawksworth said the union was unsure
if the funding shortfall would affect New Year's Eve staffing levels.

"There is not enough money in the health budget as it is," she told The Courier-Mail.

Emergency services in hospital may be compromised by the shortfall, despite assurances
from Queensland Health to the contrary, she said

AAP ap/geb/cjh

KEYWORD: Y2K BONUS

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