Almost 300 jobs to go in state cuts - Sydney Morning Herald

UP TO 300 jobs will be cut from the NSW Department of Primary Industries as part of savings measures announced by the state government in this year's budget.

The department has confirmed it needs to find cuts worth $30 million, or the equivalent of 300 positions. A spokesman said plans had been finalised and staff were being told of the changes.

''Impacted staff will be invited to apply for other positions in the department, offered voluntary redundancies, or will be put on the deployment list to be placed in other departments,'' he said.

It comes as the government confirmed it will close a specialised research facility in Cumberland Forest at West Pennant Hills and relocate staff to Camden.

The department told 19 scientists and technicians at the Forest Science Centre on Wednesday their positions would be moved to the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in Camden from July 1 next year.

The decision comes 15 months after the centre lost 11 positions and a year after the controversial closure of the Cronulla fisheries facility, which required staff to move to several coastal towns.

The Forest Science Centre, part of Forests NSW, monitors exotic pest species and the health of the state's forests, and conducts studies on carbon sequestration and endangered animals.

A DPI spokesman said the re-location to Camden was part of the government's plan to centralise researchers at the newly renovated Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, one of its five major research centres.

All 19 positions and current research projects would be relocated to Camden but staff would be offered redundancies as part of workplace agreements, he said.

Martin Horwood, a former scientist with the centre made redundant last year, said the decision to move the research facility appeared to be part of a broader campaign by the NSW government ''to get researchers out of metro Sydney''.

The staff relocation would force some experienced researchers to take redundancies because they could not manage the commute, and would make the centre's connections with universities difficult to maintain he said.

Mike Archer, a professor of biological science at the University of NSW, said the centre had been able to provide invaluable long-term research.

with Sean Nicholls