Dutton’s cuts will shred services
With a federal election expected to be called any day now, public services have become a major point of difference between the major parties.
Peter Dutton and the Coalition have adopted Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s slash and burn approach to US government jobs, vowing to slash at least 36,000 Australian Public Service positions if they’re elected, although they are refusing to say which jobs would go.
By contrast, the Albanese Labor Government have been standing by their investment in the public sector, saying they are committed to continuing to repair and rebuild the public sector so it can continue to provide the support millions of Australians rely upon.
So, what’s at risk?
Together, we have campaigned for many years to rebuild our public service, and since Labor’s election in 2022, we have seen significant progress with new jobs and more resources in agencies including Medicare, Centrelink, Veterans Affairs and more. Importantly, these new jobs are leading to significant improvements in service delivery standards. Check out the details.
The Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicides identified a backlog of 41,799 Veterans’ claims in Feb 2024. As at 21 Jan, 98% of these have been completed.
The average processing time for Veteran’s Affairs cases has fallen from 435 days to 296 days.
Aged Pension claim processing – was 84 days, now 32 days (62% faster)
Paid Parental Leave processing – was 31 days, now 3 days. (90% faster)
Family Tax Benefit processing – was 54 days, now 6 days (89% faster)
PBS Safety Net processing times – was 146 days, now 2 days (99% faster)
Medicare Eligibility and Enrolments – was 64 days, now 10 days (84% faster
Medicare patient claims processing – was 7 days, now two days. (71% faster)
The choice in the coming election is stark
Under the Coalition, these improvements and many others like them will be at risk. Dutton wants to cut 36, 000 public servants, that is 1 in 5 jobs!
Why public services matter
The critical role of the public service in the aftermath of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred underscores the reality of the Coalition’s promise to cut 36,000 people from government departments.
Whether it was Service Australia staff providing support to people and businesses impacted by the cyclone and floods, or ABC staff providing local updates, or Bureau of Meteorology issuing warnings and updates, or the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) co-ordinating everything, this natural disaster demonstrated clearly why public services matter.
Read more from award-winning writer Rick Morton in The Saturday Paper.
What you can do
The CPSU is determined to stop the Coalition wrecking public services, cutting jobs and slashing rights. We are fighting back, and we need your help. As you can see, this is not a fight we can watch from the sidelines. Stay up to date and get involved with our Proud to be Public campaign: proudtobepublic.org.au
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