O'Farrell criticised for staff increases The NSW opposition has attacked Premier Barry O'Farrell over an increase in ministerial staff. THE NSW opposition has attacked Premier Barry O'Farrell for increasing ministerial employees despite criticising the "proliferation" of ministers' staff before being elected. The biggest increase in staff numbers is within Mr O'Farrell's office, Labor frontbencher Walt Secord says. "In Opposition, Barry O'Farrell said one thing, but in Government he does another," Mr Secord said in a statement. In Opposition, Barry O'Farrell said he would cut staff, but in Government he hires more. Mr Secord said the growth of ministerial staff came as the government was cutting fire fighting and child protection workers and reducing frontline services in health and education. He says in June 2011, just after the coalition took office, there were 167 ministerial staff but the number had increased to 185 by December 2012 and 190 by June 2013. Meanwhile Mr O'Farrell's own personal staff had grown from 19 in June 2011 to 23 by the end of 2012. He currently has 25 ministerial employees, Mr Secord says, including six staff on the highest salary band of $273,000. Mr Secord says this comes after O'Farrell promised in 2010 that if elected he would cut ministerial staff. Mr O'Farrell said the government had reduced expenditure on ministerial staff compared with the former government. He said in 2012/13 financial year ministerial office expenditure under the coalition was $38.87 million. This compared with $50.06 million spent in the last financial year of the former Labor government. And expenditure within the Premier's office was $5.47 million last financial year, compared with $8.29 million in Labor's last financial year. "The NSW Government is committed to reducing waste and restoring the state's finances and these figures clearly demonstrate it's starting at the top," he said in a statement. Unions NSW secretary Mark Lennon said it was unacceptable Mr O'Farrell was "presiding over an expanding pool of staffers to serve his every need" while the government was trying to sack 8000 public sector workers .