Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher says at least 10 departments would be shut down under Peter Dutton’s APS job cuts. Photo: Michelle Kroll
The Federal Government has ‘crunched the numbers’ and says the Coalition’s plan to slash 41,000 jobs from the public service will wipe out whole departments despite claims that frontline services would not be cut.
Labor has issued a long and subjective list of how many employees would have to go from each government agency if the Opposition’s plan were implemented.
Peter Dutton backed away from the controversial policy somewhat as the federal election campaign began, and is now saying the number would be achieved through voluntary redundancies and natural attrition, rather than sackings.
The Opposition Leader has also stated that national security agencies would not be affected, nor would frontline services such as Medicare and Centrelink be diminished.
But with national security and service delivery accounting for more than two-thirds of public service jobs, Labor says the Coalition would have to shut down the rest of the Australian Government.
Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher described it as “absolute nonsense” that so many public servants could be let go without it impacting services.
She said at least 10 government departments would have to be closed under the Coalition’s plan.
“We know Peter Dutton has said he’ll cut 41,000 jobs. He said that he’ll do it by attrition, and he has also said he will not reduce frontline services or national security agencies,” Senator Gallagher said on Wednesday (23 April).
“So, when you look at the numbers and you work through how departments are staffed in the APS, if you exclude national security agencies and frontline agencies, 41,000 jobs being cut would mean the abolition of about 10 entire departments.
“That would include the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Treasury, Finance, Infrastructure, Education, Health. They would all have to go to meet Peter Dutton’s 41,000 job cuts.
“You can’t cut 41,000 jobs without affecting frontline services or national security agencies.”
Health Minister Mark Butler joined Senator Gallagher in Canberra to say workers at the Health Department were particularly at risk.
“Thousands of public servants here in Canberra and across the country who backed Australians in during the COVID pandemic,” he said.
“Who are just so important in making sure we have good, up-to-date health programs, that deliver the best health program in the world through Medicare.
“We’ve also seen over the last couple of days evidence and a confirmation that the Opposition would abolish the Centre for Disease Control, at a time when we’re seeing measles outbreaks, at a time when we have the possibility of a bird flu epidemic across the world.
“And knowing the recommendations, the clearest possible recommendations of the COVID inquiry, that there should finally be a single centre for disease control here in Australia to coordinate in a transparent way pandemic preparedness and planning.
“Peter Dutton is determined to Americanise our healthcare system, both in the way in which patients interact with the healthcare system, but also by copying the American DOGE playbook of slashing health jobs and abolishing the Centre for Disease Control.”
At the National Press Club later in the day, Mr Butler faced off with shadow health minister Anne Ruston for the election’s health policy debate.
Senator Ruston suggested the Health Minister was verballing her by saying she wanted to abolish the Centre for Disease Control, because that is not what she had said.
She asked Mr Butler to stop spreading misinformation.
On the subject of healthcare and public service jobs, Senator Ruston repeated the Coalition’s claims that frontline services would not be cut, even with the reduction in size of the Australian Public Service.
“We have a crisis in the workforce. It’s the biggest crisis, I think, that is facing healthcare at the moment, because without the workforce to be able to deliver the outcomes in healthcare, we cannot possibly deliver them,” she said.
“We want to see an efficient investment in frontline services.
“We need to make sure that we are focused on delivering services to Australians, not public servants sitting behind desks in Canberra.”
Mr Butler said if frontline services and national security agencies were not touched, it would leave only 60,000 public servants to take aim at.
“That leaves on the analysis of the Public Service Commission a little over 60,000 jobs in the frame for 41,000 jobs going,” he said.
“That includes all of the Department of Health.”
