Arabic version: متحف تسمانيا يواجه تخفيضات وظيفية غير واضحة

According to ABC News, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is facing job cuts, although the state government has not said how many positions will be lost at the Hobart institution.

The Community and Public Sector Union said staff were told in an online meeting last week that 19.7 full-time-equivalent jobs could be cut by the end of the financial year. The union said this represented about 30 per cent of TMAG’s workforce, but a government spokesperson rejected the claim and said TMAG was not required to reduce its workforce by 30 per cent.

Arts Minister Roger Jaensch said there would be job cuts across the department overseeing TMAG, including at the gallery, but said this did not automatically mean 19 TMAG positions would be removed. He did not provide a figure for cuts at the museum and gallery.

The former Department of State Growth is being reformed as Building Tasmania, with 250 jobs to be lost as its focus narrows to infrastructure. TMAG is expected to move under a planned Tourism, Events and Creative entity within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

The union said the proposed reductions could affect staff, services and the preservation of Tasmania’s cultural and scientific heritage. TMAG, which states it is Australia’s second-oldest museum, holds permanent exhibitions covering the thylacine, Antarctica, Palawa history and culture, and Tasmanian plant and animal specimens.