Australian Unions warn if the Coalition goes ahead with its plan to cut $6 billion from public services, it will wipe out up to 36,000 public sector jobs.
Australian Unions say the cuts would result in 1 in 5 public sector jobs being lost around the country, impacting services from pensions and veterans’ payments, to the operation of regional weather stations.
Coalition Leader, Peter Dutton, yesterday declared he would look for savings of $6 billion a year by cutting public sector jobs to match the Government’s investment in Medicare.
More than 20,000 of the new public sector jobs are based outside of Canberra, including frontline health and community workers, with large workforces in communities including Townsville and Geelong.
The cuts to public sector jobs will not save taxpayers’ money. When in office, the Coalition relied heavily on private consultants, particularly the Big Four accounting and consulting firms, awarding them contracts totaling $21 billion in the final year alone of the Morrison Government.
The cuts risk creating growing claim backlogs at Services Australia, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the ATO which could delay essential payments and weaken tax avoidance efforts.
Shadow Education Minister, Sarah Henderson, also signaled that the Coalition would save money by opposing Labor’s $16 billion pledge to waive 20 per cent of tertiary student debts.
Denying the Albanese Government’s 20 per cent debt relief would cost an Australian with an average-sized student loan $5,520, adding to their cost-of-living pressures.
The Coalition also voted against the Government’s free TAFE legislation, which has saved students up to $20,000 in total course fees.
Quotes attributable to ACTU President, Michele O’Neil:
“Job cuts mean service cuts to all Australians. The only winners from Peter Dutton’s cuts are big consultants that will profit from this outsourcing, as well as multinational companies that will have weaker oversight on their tax avoidance.
“Australians need an effective public service that supports their communities. For Australian veterans, students and pensioners, Dutton’s cuts mean longer wait times and fewer people to help you if you need assistance with your payments.
“Sixty per cent of public service workers are based outside of Canberra. Cutting 20,000 of those jobs means we lose the expertise, services and incomes these workers provide to local communities across Australia.”
Quotes attributable to CPSU National Secretary, Melissa Donnelly:
“The only people who win from Peter Dutton’s plan to slash public services are the consultants from places like PwC and KPMG.
“Sixty per cent of public service jobs are being done in places like Townsville, the Blue Mountains and Goulburn.
“Peter Dutton’s plan to rip 36,000 jobs out of the public service is a plan to rip money and jobs out of local economies, and good local services out of communities.
“In the final year of the Morrison Government, the Liberals had employed an external labour workforce of 54,000 employees at a cost of $21 billion.
“Peter Dutton’s plan to gut our public services is a plan to sack highly skilled APS employees and give their work to his mates in big business.”
