The boss of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority has launched a strong defence of the agency and his management of it, in a hearing where more details of the agency's move to Armidale were revealed.
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The authority is set to complete its move to Armidale next year, under a policy introduced by former agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, but the move has faced resistance from staff, leading many to leave the organisation. Despite original plans to move all staff to the NSW regional centre, in July it was announced about 40 staff would stay in a "satellite office" in Canberra.
"At all times I’ve been very clear, I think my actions in maintaining an office in Canberra and providing that advice to the minister make it, I think quite obvious, that I am managing the government policy to the best of my ability and including ensuring that we maintain both the independence and performance of the APVMA," chief executive Chris Parker told the committee.
Staff who didn't move to Armidale would be able to seek redundancies at the beginning of next year, the inquiry heard.
A Senate inquiry to investigate the independence of decisions made by the agency was set up last month, after a Four Corners report on weed killer giant Monsanto and concerns that glysophate, found in RoundUp, caused cancer.
Much of the questioning directed at representatives of the agency and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources focused instead on how many staff would be moving to Armidale and when, and what would happen to staff who didn't make the move.
The agency has about 190 staff and in July it announced about 40 regulatory scientists would stay in Canberra when the agency set up its permanent headquarters in Armidale.
The organisation has about 90 regulatory scientists; 26 of those are now based in Armidale. Of that number, six have relocated from Canberra, and the other 20 were hired since the move.
Of the staff in Armidale already, eight had moved from Canberra, six were planning to move by the end of the year and another 14 were still considering whether they would move.
About 25 scientists have not been selected to stay in Canberra and have indicated they will not move to Armidale, and they will be able to ask to be redeployed or apply for a redundancy, the committee heard.
The remaining scientists would be recruited to work in Armidale, and Dr Parker said the agency had no concerns about whether it would be able to find quality applicants for the roles.
"I’m not seeing an issue about whether we can or can’t get scientists," Dr Parker said.
Those who chooe not to move to Armidale would be given the chance to seek a voluntary redundancy or ask to be re-deployed.
"At this stage we’re trying to manage a workforce as we’re going forward," Dr Parker said.
"So what the plan is at the moment is that we will find all remaining staff who aren't going to move to Armidale 'excess' at the beginning of February, that’s the start of the process. You can’t offer someone a [voluntary redundancy] unless you find them excess and start working through the retention period."
Dr Parker said he believed the satellite office in Canberra would exist for the forseeable future and that it would stay in the current Canberra office at least until the lease on that building is up in 2020.
