The federal coalition claims the standard of service from the Commonwealth public service has declined despite the introduction of 10,000 more mandarins.
Shadow minister for the public service Senator Jane Hume told Sky News there has been an increase in public servants but that increase has been accompanied by a decrease in quality.
Hume made her comments about the growth a fortnight ahead of the first week of budget estimates, during which Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher and senior public servants will be quizzed on their management of taxpayer funds.
Her remarks also follow a recent announcement by Gallagher that the government is cutting back on further funding for the engagement of consultants, with the total amount saved from the use of consultants and contractors $4 billion since the election of the Albanese government.
Gallagher and Treasurer Jim Chalmers had promised to rebuild the public sector as well as wean government departments and agencies off using consulting and labour hire firms for essential public service tasks.
Hume said there appeared to be no improvement in service quality despite the government seeking to rebuild the public service via an increased headcount.
“Well, we certainly wouldn’t be putting out an additional 10,000 public servants and I’ll be interested to see whether that number has increased because… I don’t know about you, but have you felt like you’ve seen 10,000 public servants better off in terms of the service,” Hume said.
“In fact, we’ve seen delivery times decrease in some areas. So, I’d very much like to understand exactly what those 10,000 new public servants are doing.”
Hume likened the increase in the public service headcount to private sectors entities that have about 10,000 employees.
“And, you know, let’s put this in perspective. Myer Australia has about 10,000 employees in total. Virgin Australia has around 10,000 employees in total. So they put the same number of employees on as there is in the whole of Virgin Australia, into the public service in just two years alone.
“Now that’s pretty exceptional. And if you’re not receiving the services you expect and deserve with that investment… well, what was the point?”
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