Staff from the Environment Protection Authority will walk off the job in Parramatta today in protest at the Minns Labor Government\u2019s plan to axe hundreds of roles.
\u00a0
The lunchtime protest sends a clear message. The people who test the water we drink, monitor air quality, and respond to asbestos and contamination are being thrown aside. These are the workers who protect NSW households every day, and now they are being treated as expendable.
\u00a0
Under Chris Minns the EPA faces $20 million in cuts and 370 roles delimited.
\u00a0
Labor said before the election that jobs were safe. The truth is the opposite. So many of our public sector people who believed Labor\u2019s promises have been duped.
\u00a0
The anger felt at today\u2019s protest reflects what is happening right across the public sector.
\u00a0
The government workforce feels betrayed and ignored. Morale has plummeted. Staff are burnt out and tired of being told everything is fine while their jobs disappear.
\u00a0
Leader of the Opposition Mark Speakman said this is a government that talks about integrity but hides behind spin while gutting from our agency designed to protect the environment.
\u00a0
\u201cWhen workers who protect our environment are walking off the job, you know Labor has lost control. Chris Minns has turned his back on the people who keep NSW safe,\u201d Mr Speakman said.
\u00a0
Shadow Minister for Energy, Climate Change and Environment said EPA culture was being destroyed, and staff were already looking for work elsewhere.
\u00a0
\u201cEPA staff have contacted me sharing their concerns that these cuts will \u2018strip the organisation of experience and knowledge\u2019. In the EPA staff members own words \u201cyou actually invested in us, Labor are cutting\u2026\u201d said Mr Griffin.
\u00a0
When the EPA is gutted, toxic sites go unchecked, pollution risks rise, and public safety is compromised. Labor\u2019s cuts aren\u2019t just reckless, they\u2019re dangerous.
\u00a0
This protest is a warning. The public sector is breaking under Labor\u2019s cuts, and the government is pretending not to notice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Staff from the Environment Protection Authority will walk off the job in Parramatta today in protest at the Minns Labor Government\u2019s plan to axe hundreds of roles.\u00a0The lunchtime protest sends a clear message. The people who test the water we drink, monitor air quality, and respond to asbestos and contamination are being thrown aside. These … Continue reading “Minns Labor government sacks the people who protect our environment”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35867"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35867\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35868,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35867\/revisions\/35868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}