Peter Dutton said some of the 41,000 cuts would be achieved by not proceeding with unfilled vacancies, but political opponents and experts say the numbers don’t add up.<\/p>\n
“I think we have to be realistic that if you are adding new functions \u2026 then you need to resource that to deliver those outcomes. And this nonsense that you just sack 41,000 jobs and you can still deliver that is just crazy,” Senator Gallagher said in April.<\/p>\n
But the Albanese government had also pursued its own efficiencies, retaining the Coalition’s efficiency “dividend”, which requires most departments and agencies to find savings of 1 per cent per year.<\/p>\n
And there was a hint that more efficiencies would come after the election when the mid-year budget papers last December showed the government had not allocated extra funding to meet billions of dollars of new wage agreements with public servants.<\/p>\n
“This is a matter that departments manage,” she said of the wage rises. “They live within their budgets. Their budgets are indexed \u2026 we didn’t supplement the first pay increase over and above the indexation that departments get.”<\/p>\n
After the election, Liberal finance spokesperson James Paterson said this admission amounted to a Labor plan to cut 22,500 public servants, unless it could find other offsetting savings.<\/p>\n
“Labor also took a commitment to the last election to cut the [Australian Public Service] \u2026 I will be watching with interest to see how the government squares this circle,” he said in July.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After the election, James Paterson accused Labor of its own implicit policy to cut public service jobs. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n
Union warns of job losses<\/p>\n
Senator Gallagher has not confirmed the timeline for the 5 per cent saving, although the AFR reported it would apply in a single year.<\/p>\n
Independent David Pocock said the move would have “catastrophic impacts on smaller agencies from the AFP to CSIRO to our national cultural institutions”, such as the National Gallery of Australia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
David Pocock said the move would devastate smaller agencies. (ABC News: Ian Cutmore)<\/p>\n
“Being careful with public resources is one thing, but potentially decimating key parts of the public service with a blunt measure like this is another,” he said.<\/p>\n
In response to a question from Senator Pocock during Question Time, Senator Gallagher noted the federal government had exempted national cultural institutions, including the gallery, from the current efficiency dividend and said the government was “not looking to” reduce the total average staffing level in the Australian Public Service.<\/p>\n