NPWS Briefing by Atticus Fleming

The NPWS Deputy Secretary advised the meeting that some issues with the Machinery of Government are yet to be resolved and that the budget situation in the next financial year is anticipated to be tight. The Secretary is aware that the re-opening of Kosciuszko National Park following the cull of horses during winter may result in heightened media and public interest in the management of feral horses in the park. Already, photos taken in breach of the closure are circulating on social media and he further flagged that negotiations on the boundaries of the Great Koala National Park have commenced with Forestry Corporation but there is no firm timeframe on an announcement.

The PSA raised its ongoing concerns with office accommodation that will require upgrading (or building) for the additional staff needed to manage the park.  Office accommodation for staff in Coffs Coast Area is already at capacity and does not meet the needs for those staff.

Coffs Harbour has been identified in the draft DCCEEW Flexible Working policy as one of the locations where shortfalls in office space have been identified.  The PSA asked if a stand-alone NPWS policy would be developed to address the specific needs of NPWS staff.  The meeting was advised that this would not be the case and that NPWS as a whole would be giving effect to the policy.  However, the policy would not be implemented in certain locations until accommodation issues are addressed.

De-skilling and casualisation of the NPWS workforce

The deskilling and casualisation of the NPWS workforce continue unabated.  The PSA has become aware that the team behind the much-promoted Ecological Health Scorecard project is primarily made up of temporary staff with only 4 permanent staff for this ‘ongoing project’.  The PSA was of the belief that casualisation and deskilling of the public service were Coalition policies and is concerned that these policies has continued under the current Government.

The PSA continues to point out the significant reduction in the number of Rangers across NPWS since 2010.  There has been a significant increase in the area of National Parks – incredibly, no additional Rangers, the PSA will continue to advocate of the need for increase Ranger roles within NPWS .

The PSA continues to point out the significant reduction in the number of Rangers across NPWS over the past decade, despite the significant increase in the area of National Parks – one of the few positions that still requires a degree.

Complaints about the management of projects on park, often with greater environmental impacts than necessary, have been raised.

These issues however continue to be ignored by the NPWS Executive which continues to implement Coalition workplace policies in recruitment.  The meeting noted that, if the NPWS can reverse the mistake of creating FOGO roles, then the same could be applied to other classifications.

After some robust discussion on the issue, it was resolved to take the discussion ‘off line’ and a meeting has been scheduled for 9 October to further ventilate issues on this matter.

Law enforcement training and MoU with the NSW Police

Concern has been raised about the law enforcement training strategy, which relies on the already limited number of specialist investigators to be taken offline to deliver training.  Questions have been asked about whether trainees will be receiving formal units of competency, and if training could be delivered without taking the team of investigators away from vital work on active cases.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DCCEEW and NSW Police is another point of concern.  Although still in draft form, the meeting was advised that the MoU will principally only refer to data sharing between DCCEEW and the Police.  As drafted, it does not cover or seek to resolve NPWS operational matters such as Police assistance in enforcing motor vehicle legislation in parks.

My Work Zone (MWZ)

Members had raised concerns that, when My Work Zone (MWZ) comes online soon, it will not immediately handle the payment of incident claims.  The advice is that such claims can continue to be made via the CS connect portal, except for a few days before staff will have access to MWZ on 4 October.

PSA members have also raised concerns that MWZ will not accommodate the local arrangements regarding 5/7 rosters and patterns of workdays and RDOs.  The PSA had been assured that this would not be a problem, but MWZ has been designed to enforce strict compliance with award conditions.  The PSA will be seeking a variation to the award to provide greater flexibility in rostering of field staff.