Massive cuts to Queensland's public service and government programs under the LNP administration of Campbell Newman were given a "pain" ranking, confidential documents reveal.

Key points: Cabinet Budget Review Committee notes reveal "pain threshold ranking" for proposed savings initiatives

Cabinet Budget Review Committee notes reveal "pain threshold ranking" for proposed savings initiatives One cut saw 20 full-time jobs scrapped, measured highest on "pain threshold ranking"

One cut saw 20 full-time jobs scrapped, measured highest on "pain threshold ranking" Savings amounted to $40 million or 20 per cent of Environment Department budget

The ABC has obtained a raft of cabinet briefing notes and internal government savings proposals outlining moves to slash tens of millions of dollars from the environment budget during the LNP's administration.

One document, prepared for the LNP's Cabinet Budget Review Committee (CBRC) or "razor gang" in 2012, outlines savings initiatives to slice 220 jobs and 20 per cent of the budget from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

Next to each of the 19 proposed savings initiatives is a "pain threshold ranking" ranging from 1 to 4, with 1 described as "easiest".

One cut, the scrapping of the ecoBiz program with the loss of more than 20 full-time jobs, was rated a 4 on the pain threshold ranking.

Now run by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland, ecoBiz was set up by the state government to help businesses to become more sustainable and save thousands on their utility bills.

Cutting funding for the Sustainable Energy Innovation Fund, reducing coastal planning and scaling back environmental regulation were rated a 3 on the pain scale.

"What this document shows is that the only thing the previous government was concerned about was the impact the cuts would have on them, not the impact the cuts would have on workers or the community," said Together Union state secretary Alex Scott.

Mr Scott said 14,000 Queensland public servants were sacked during the LNP administration.

Labor calls on former treasurer to explain ranking

Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles has told the ABC he has never heard of a pain threshold being used to assess cuts.

"They were assessing all of these budget cuts according to some sort of bizarre pain rating," he said.

"Now it's up to [now Opposition Leader] Tim Nicholls, who oversaw this process, to explain to us exactly what he meant by this pain threshold rating.

"Did it mean the pain for the people who lost their jobs? I suspect it was their assessment of the political pain these decisions would have."

The ABC submitted questions to Mr Nicholls, who was the treasurer and a senior member of the CBRC at the time of the cuts.

"The document you are referring to was from the department and not part of the CBRC process," Mr Nicholls' office told the ABC in a single-line response.

But the document is headed "Cabinet Budget Review Committee (CBRC) EHP Summary of Savings Proposals" and is contained in a folder of proposals addressed to the under-treasurer.

The proposals amounted to a saving of $40 million, or 20 per cent of the Environment Department's budget.

On winning government, the LNP argued that deep cuts were needed to deal with the debt it had inherited from the previous Labor government.

A report in 2012 by former federal treasurer Peter Costello put state debt at $62 billion.

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