A last minute Budget top up for the Department of Conservation is likely to mean only 80 staff will lose their jobs rather than the original 140, estimated in a restructuring plan announced last month.
Conservation Minister Nick Smith announced that DOC would get an extra $20 million over the
next four years in the Budget, which is tagged for extra frontline staff and upgrading recreational facilities.
It comes just a month after Doc Director General Al Morrison announced the draft plans for a restructure of the Department, under which 140 staff were expected to lose jobs and a flatter management structure put in place.
Dr Smith said the extra funding was partly prompted by the concerns raised in reaction to the Doc restructure, especially concerns that it would leave area offices and field centres with too few staff. He said $15 million of the funding - about $3.8m a year - would be used to increase the frontline workforce by about 60 staff, such as visitor information, support staff and rangers working on hut and track maintenance, and protecting threatened species. He said that would offset about 140 mainly management roles which would go under the restructure.
The remaining $5m will be used for recreational facilities.
