Craig Elliot labour candidate for Tweed posted the following on his facebook page.
WALT SECORD MLC
SHADOW MINISTER FOR THE NORTH COAST
DEPUTY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION IN THE NSW LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
CRAIG ELLIOT
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR TWEED
JANELLE SAFFIN
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR LISMORE
Thursday 31 May 2018
FIREARMS REGISTRY JOB CUTS – A THIRD OF THE STAFF TO GO
NSW Labor today demanded the NSW Nationals “come clean” on its plans to slash a third of the jobs at the NSW Firearms Registry at Murwillumbah on the State’s North Coast.
A third – 30 out of the 90 staff – at the facility have been told that their jobs will no longer exist – but there has been little consultation with the staff.
NSW Shadow Minister for the North Coast Walt Secord; the Labor candidate for Tweed Craig Elliot; and Labor candidate for Lismore Janelle Saffin slammed the “ongoing assault on frontline services across regional NSW” and the secrecy and arrogance of the Berejiklian Government.
They also expressed concern about community safety with the reduction in staff at the NSW Firearms Registry.
At a meeting in Murwillumbah on Thursday 24 May 2018, 15 workers were given notice and told their jobs finish at the end of the month.
Staff were also told that a further 15 ongoing positions were to be cut in the immediate future.
Mr Secord said: “As well as the impact on individual workers, there is also the matter of community safety and regional jobs.”
“The staff are being sacked to fund an electronic version of online submission forms by shooters to the Registry, with inquiry tasks being transferred away to Newcastle.”
Former police officer and Labor candidate for Tweed Craig Elliot shared his community’s dismay at further cuts being inflicted by the Sydney centric Liberal Nationals government.
“Geoff Provest and Thomas George have the wrong priorities. Instead of doing their job they have decided to cut further frontline services from our area.
“Slashing 30 local jobs not only hurts the workers and their families directly, but will harm local businesses and rip a hole in our regional economy, ” Mr Elliot said.
Labor’s Lismore candidate Janelle Saffin also expressed her concern at the Berejiklian Government’s misplaced priorities.
“The Nationals support for wasting $2.2 billion on demolishing and re-building two existing stadiums in Sydney while cutting 30 local jobs shows the Nationals have abandoned the best interests of the North Coast.
“These job cuts are further proof that the Nationals have only two approaches to Government – cuts to frontline services and privatisation,” Ms Saffin said.
The cuts to the Firearms Registry also follow a number of cuts and reductions in services across the Tweed Valley. This includes cuts to police numbers and court house sitting days; the downgrading of services at the Murwillumbah Hospital children’s ward; the closure of the Tweed Valley Women’s Service – an essential domestic violence service; and the impending closure and sell-off of the Murwillumbah TAFE.
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