The Government has lost control of the bureaucracy, with tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ funds being wasted on costly testing.A straightforward request for a chair mat, to protect the carpet in Senator Scott Ryan’s electorate office from wear and tear, was rejected unless a complex ergonomic test costing more than $600 was carried out.
Despite protests from Senator Ryan’s staff that there were no ergonomic issues, the Department of Finance and Deregulation representative insisted a private occupational health and safety consultant must attend the workplace before the simple plastic mat can be provided.
Senator Ryan raised the waste of taxpayer dollars in the Senate Finance and Public Legislation Committee on Tuesday and was told the tests were necessary to avoid injuries in the workplace.
“I would like to see evidence of injuries caused by radical chair slippage before we commit this pile of taxpayer money to ergonomic tests,” the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business and Fair Competition said.
“What a waste. My staff are trying to do the right thing by maintaining tax-payer funded property, but the bureaucracy is dithering and wasting time, rather than getting on with the job. It is probably understandable though, how can the staff of an incompetent and directionless Government be expected to do any better?”
“This doesn’t happen in workplaces around Australia. Small business owners just go down to Officeworks and buy a mat.”
This is yet another chapter in the guide to waste, with the Department of Parliamentary Services revealing staff are being paid to learn how to sleep better and spending $100,000 investigating the sale of two pool tables.