Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas refuses to 'bear responsibility' for council's casuals

The federal government has not allowed state or local government workers to apply for JobKeeper and, speaking on Wednesday, Mr Pallas said Victoria would only cover that gap with its own staff.

He announced 3000 casuals who had worked for agencies of government would receive fortnightly payments of $1500 until September, if they were willing to be redeployed to public sector roles like health where there is high demand.

But he said councils were usually funded by rates and the federal government, and each tier of government had to play its part in supporting its own workforce.

"The state has no intention to provide support for councils, that's a council responsibility," he said.

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"We're all in it together. That doesn't mean ultimately one particular tier of government should be wearing the weight of responsibility for support, we all have to bear our share of responsibility.

"State government has demonstrated that where we've seen shortcomings in the JobKeeper scheme, we've stepped up to the plate and we've put in place arrangements to look after employees."

The Municipal Association of Victoria has said that mandatory council facility closures mean about 5000 casuals are without work.

Hardship policies have also been enacted at many councils, so ratepayers can have more time to pay their next installment of rates.

But this has taken away a major source of income.

Councils putting together their budgets for the 2020-21 financial year have turned to borrowing money to make up shortfalls - Wangaratta has budgeted for $18 million of "new borrowings" and Ballarat for $17 million.

"The $17 million in new borrowings outlined in the draft City of Ballarat 2020/21 budget is to cover expected financial shortfalls from the COVID-19 pandemic, including facility closures and an expected rate revenue decrease," Ballarat mayor Ben Taylor said.

Wangaratta Council chief executive Brendan McGrath said the council was doing its best to find alternate duties for staff while it was excluded from both federal and state funding programs.

"There doesn't seem to be any obvious reason to exclude our workforce, who provide essential services from the benefits available to the broader workforce," he said.

"Whilst we understand each of the three levels of government must "share the load", we are disappointed as rural and regional councils particularly will struggle with the financial costs of falling revenue, and increasing requests for assistance for those struggling financially.

Australian Services Union secretary Lisa Darmanin called on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to intervene to ensure casual council workers had similar support to those who work for the state government, saying the different tiers of government should not bicker about who is responsible.

"Casual council workers need leadership from the Andrews Government not cold dismissal by Treasurer Tim Pallas of the plight faced by workers who aren't receiving a wage," she said.

"The livelihoods of thousands of casual council employees have disappeared, and Treasurer Tim Pallas dismisses their plight as someone else's problem.

"Weeks ago, the Minister for Local Government and the Minister for Jobs urged councils not to terminate or stand down workers."

"That did not work. Instead, the situation has escalated with thousands of casuals now without a pay packet."

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