NSW taxpayers 'stung up to $4000 a day' as Treasurer outsources policy making

NEW SOUTH WALES Treasurer Dominic Perrottet's move to outsource Treasury work to KPMG is a waste of money and resources, according to the Public Service Association (PSA).

A report in The Sydney Morning Herald this morning revealed the Treasurer would pay consultancy firm KPMG $5.5 million to reform the state's stamp duty scheme.

“Once again the NSW Government is only happy to waste millions of taxpayer dollars on consultants when the expertise already exists in NSW Treasury many times over," PSA general secretary Stewart Little said.

Taxpayers could be paying as much as $4000 a day for this work, under the government's own procurement policy. The lowest rate for an analyst is $1200 a day.

"When the NSW Government froze the wages of public sector workers in 2020 they were told that everyone was tightening their belts. Treasurer Perrottet promised the government would go on a hiring spree - it seems he was only thinking of consultants.

"NSW has the best and brightest policymakers in the country. From those working around the clock in NSW Health, to the Service NSW and Treasury officials who've made sure people across the state get the support they need," Mr Little said.

"The level of expertise isn't easily matched, and they're ready to do the work but instead vital functions of the government are being outsourced to consultants at exorbitant rates. The Treasurer needs to do the maths again, because this doesn't add up."

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