2025-04-07
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New numbers reveal which South Australian workers are most at risk under Peter Dutton’s proposed plan to cut 41,000 jobs from the Australian Public Service (APS). While Dutton refuses to provide details on where the cuts will be made, he has said he will cut all new APS jobs created since the last election, leaving 3,700 APS workers at risk in South Australia. This amounts to 1 in 4 SA based APS workers now vulnerable to unemployment during a cost of living crisis. The largest losses would come from the National Disability Insurance Agency (441), Services Australia (290), Australian Taxation Office (278), Veterans Affairs (258) and Home Affairs (245). The NDIA, Health and Aged Care and Veterans Affairs agencies could lose more than 50% of their staff. The Greens are the only party with a targeted policy to protect the APS from these cuts, to end the misuse of consultants and to expand the APS in line with population growth. Lines attributable to Senator Barbara Pocock: “Bragging about firing workers from their jobs is an egregious response to the challenges Australians are facing in a cost of living crisis. “These cuts will be devastating to South Australia.Three times more SA workers would lose their jobs if Dutton’s gets in, than if the Whyalla Steelworks closed tomorrow. A Dutton-led government is a danger to South Australian workers and our economy. “Make no mistake, Peter Dutton will cut a swathe through the APS workforce across all the key service delivery agencies including Defence where almost 10% of SA based non-military jobs are set to go. Almost 70% of federal health and aged care jobs will go, over 60% of jobs at Veterans’ Affairs and more than half the current staff at the NDIA face the chop under a Dutton government. “For Peter Dutton to threaten the jobs of so many South Australians while refusing to provide any detail, sends a strong message to the electorate that he does not care about APS workers or the vital services they provide. “Labor’s plan for the APS will only maintain the status-quo. It doesn’t address the ongoing needs of the Australian community and certainly won’t Dutton-proof the APS into the future. The Greens have a policy to invest in the public service in line with population growth to ensure that our capacity for service delivery keeps pace with growing demand. “It was the Greens who pushed for an inquiry into the consulting industry which uncovered unethical practices including over-charging, conflicts of interest and serious concerns about value for money. “The use of external contractors is three-times more expensive than employing public servants and only the Greens have a plan to systematically reduce the reliance of government agencies on consultants. “Despite making promises, Labor’s savings on consultants make up only 1% of the total reduction in external contracting. The Greens have called for mandatory cuts in consultant contracts of 15% per year over five years. “The big international consulting firms have taken Australian taxpayers for a ride and the Greens aim to put an end to this by getting Labor to institute a clear and effective policy that will stop the rorts and bring core public service work back into the APS.” |