Coalition now says it will slash as much as $30 billion from the public service

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook will be revealed today (18 December), and Treasurer Jim Chalmers is set to use MYEFO to reveal a $100 billion downgrade in mining exports over four years, which will result in $8.5 billion less company tax the government can grab over that period.

It’s a sharp reality check that doesn’t bode well for future surpluses and government spending.

Meanwhile, when Shadow Assistant Minister for Housing Andrew Bragg was asked during an interview on Sky what the opposition would do if it had control of the federal budget, his answer was swift and to the point.

It’s the public service.

“We’ve seen some significant deterioration in the national finances, and we will see further years of deficits. They will be very deep deficits,” he said.

“And I think that’s because the government prioritised the public sector over growing the private economy.

“And now the public sector is having to meet, for example, a very significant wages bill which has exploded under this government.”

As the Liberal senator continued his explanation of how the Coalition will save money, he suggested that the cuts to the public service might go further than the 36,000 jobs Peter Dutton has already flagged.

When asked to give examples of where the savings would come from, he answered that up to $30 billion could be taken from the public service—a higher number than the opposition has previously suggested.

“Well, there’s $20 or $30 billion dollars of excess public sector expenditure now that exists because of this government’s judgment to expand the size of the public sector,” he said.

“So, we wouldn’t be proceeding with that.”

When the interviewer interrupted to clarify that Senator Bragg was actually saying there would be a $30 billion cut to the public sector, the assistant shadow minister not only confirmed the figure but made specific references to just where in the Australian Public Service such savings could be found.

“There’s a very significant growth that’s occurred, $20 or $30 billion, over the course of this parliament into the size of the public sector,” Senator Bragg said.

“There’s also, in addition to that, very significant growth in the number of bureaucracies.

“There have been boondoggle funds, like the national reconstruction fund, the housing fund – I mean these are not things that we would proceed with.”

Labor has seized on the comments as the clearest indication yet that the Opposition Leader intends to reduce the size of the APS and its ability to deliver services for Australians.

Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher suggested that Senator Bragg’s language would have sent a shiver down the spine of thousands of public servants in Canberra and other cities and regions across the nation.

She said the Coalition spent a decade deliberately dismantling the APS when it was last in government, and it is clear as day that they plan to do that again if elected.

“Peter Dutton’s reckless plan to slash up to $30 billion from the public service will see jobs slashed and essential services Australians rely on every day go backwards,” Senator Gallagher said.

“Cuts of this magnitude will impact the government’s ability to deliver critical services that Australians use every day and will cause delays in Services Australia payments, veterans’ claims, and see a blow-out in processing times for Medicare.

“Australians deserve a government that is focused on delivering services to the community, not one that outsources government work or sacrifices essential services for ideological political point scoring.”

Senator Bragg’s comments are the latest in a concerted Coalition effort to target the public service.

Since May when Mr Dutton used his budget in reply to label funding for an extra 36,000 public sector jobs over four years (to be located mostly outside of Canberra) as a misplaced priority, he and his frontbench have used every opportunity to talk down the public service.

Shadow ministers have been on the attack, making no secret of their plan to cut public service numbers and services.

“You’ve got to ask yourself, do we need 36,000 more public servants?” Mr Dutton told a recent Minerals Council dinner.

Nationals leader David Littleproud has also been on message.

“The first thing we’ll do is sack those 36,000 public servants in Canberra – that’s $24 billion worth,” he said in a media interview.