Staff at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery have reportedly been told almost 20 full-time positions could be axed by the end of the financial year, but the Tasmanian Government has rejected claims the institution has been ordered to cut 30% of its workforce.
In a call-out urging Arts Minister Roger Jaensch to step in, the Tasmanian branch of the Community and Public Sector Union says staff were informed in an online meeting last week that 19.7 full-time-equivalent positions would be cut.
The figure would represent around 30% of TMAG’s workforce, which is understood to number between 50 and 75 people. The union’s claims have also been backed up publicly by Unions Tasmania on social media.
The Liberal state government has disputed the union’s figure, however, the total number of positions to be lost at TMAG remains unclear.
TMAG job cuts – quick links
Government denies 30% cut – but won’t give a number
Tasmanian Deputy Premier Guy Barnett rejected the CPSU’s claim that TMAG had been directed to cut almost a third of its workforce. ‘The advice I have, that’s wrong, it’s false,’ Barnett told reporters, according to Pulse Tasmania.
A government spokesperson similarly told ABC News, ‘TMAG is not required to reduce its workforce by 30%’.
But when asked what TMAG had actually been directed to cut, Barnett did not provide a figure, instead pointing to the government’s broader public sector efficiency measures and voluntary redundancy program.
The issue was raised during question time in Tasmania’s Parliament on 1 September, with Labor MP Meg Brown asking the Arts Minister to clarify exactly how many TMAG jobs would be lost.
Jaensch confirmed that there would be job cuts across the department overseeing TMAG as part of the government’s restructuring of the former Department of State Growth, which is being reformed as Building Tasmania, but said this did not automatically translate into 19 job cuts at the museum.
He did not provide an alternative number.
Jaensch said there is ‘no direct formula to work out TMAG’s share as a set number of jobs,’ Pulse Tasmania reports.
Union warns of impact of job cuts on museum services
For the CPSU, the lack of clarity over the government’s plans is itself a concern.
As reported by ABC News, the union sent a letter to members last week affirming that ‘staff have a right to be angry’ about the decision. The letter said the proposed cuts would have a ‘profound effect’ on staff, the services TMAG delivers, and the preservation of Tasmania’s cultural and scientific heritage.
CPSU state secretary Thirza White told the ABC that the Tasmanian Government needed to identify where the jobs would be lost and what impact that would have on services.
The union has also raised concerns about existing staffing pressures. White said there had already been days in the previous six months when TMAG did not have enough staff to adequately open all of its galleries.
TMAG is responsible for almost one million items in the Tasmanian state collection and operates its main museum and gallery in Hobart, as well as a collections and research facility at Rosny. More than 280,000 people visited the institution in the 2024-25 period, with around half travelling from interstate and almost one-fifth from overseas.
Job cuts come amid wider public service restructuring
The dispute comes as the Liberal state government undertakes a major restructure of Tasmania’s public service as it attempts to reduce state debt.
Around 250 positions are expected to be lost as the former Department of State Growth is restructured into Building Tasmania. TMAG is due to move into a new yet-to-be-established entity responsible for tourism, events and the creative industries, sitting within the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
Treasurer Eric Abetz is targeting around 1800 public service job cuts by 2032.
The TMAG dispute also comes amid wider concerns about government support for Tasmania’s arts and cultural sector. The ABC has reported on the ‘dangerously low’ state of arts funding in Tasmania, which has remained stagnant since 2016-17, while several TasTAFE creative courses have recently lost government subsidies. The state’s screen industry is also questioning staff cuts at Screen Tasmania.
For now, the government’s position is that TMAG is not facing an automatic 30% workforce reduction. But with neither the Arts Minister nor Deputy Premier willing to specify how many TMAG positions will be cut, the ultimate impact on the institution remains unclear.
