This week's announcement of job cuts at Infrastructure Canberra may not be particularly surprising, but comes as just the latest confused signal from a government that insists it has a plan for the prudent financial management of the ACT.
The ACT budget, handed down in June, contained some tough medicine, forecasting a continuing rise in expenses and net debt expected to grow every year of the forward estimates. The unforeseeable shock of war to the global economy, which had driven up costs of most things but especially transport, had hammered the government's bottom line.
As a result, rates bills would have to rise on average by 5 per cent and frontline services would be prioritised as the government looked to make savings.
After priming us for this inevitable belt-tightening and insisting that the deficit could be tamed without impacting critical services, Treasurer Chris Steel announced a surprise improvement just weeks later when in August he revealed a cash surplus ahead of schedule that showed, "the government is delivering responsive and responsible fiscal management," the Treasurer said.
So those who breathed a cautious sigh of relief at that news and thought things might be back on track could be forgiven for being blindsided this week when learning jobs would have to go at the agency responsible for delivering on the many significant major projects already underway or in advanced stages of planning.
What will be particularly upsetting for staff is the uncertainty created by the announcement. No targets have been made public, if indeed they exist at all. Staff have not been told how many of the 541 people listed in the most recent annual report will have to go.
Also lacking is any evidence of a strategy for how much is to be saved, over what timeframe, and which projects might be given the go-slow or placed on indefinite hold. The union has already identified the new North Canberra Hospital and Commonwealth Park aquatic centre as possible casualties.
Whether this will come to pass or not we do not yet know, and that's the point - the public is being left in the dark about how, when and indeed why, these positions are being cut.
What we do know is this is not a new issue. ACT public service staffing has grown by more than 8000 full-time equivalent roles in just eight years to more than 30,000 at last count.
Perhaps there is a well-developed plan that allows the government to simultaneously cut jobs without impacting the infrastructure projects already under way. If so, it's time it was shared with Canberrans.
