Cuts to bureaucracy ‘very challenging’, Campbell Newman warns Peter Dutton

Reducing the size of public service will be extremely difficult – just ask former Queensland premier Campbell Newman.

Former Queensland premier Campbell Newman, right, has warned Peter Dutton of the difficulty of cutting the public service.

Any attempt by Peter Dutton to cut the federal bureaucracy would be “very challenging” and could not be achieved with sweeping jobs cuts, former Queensland premier Campbell Newman has said, as the Coalition conceals its plans for the future of the public service.

The Coalition has repeatedly attacked Labor over a ballooning growth in the number of federal bureaucrats, which has risen by 36,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions since the ALP came to government, arguing the increase constituted “wasteful spending”.

Mr Newman, who slashed the total headcount of Queensland’s public service by 14,000 positions after he was elected in 2012, said if the Coalition were to press ahead with cuts to the federal bureau­cracy, they would have to come via attrition and the expiry of temporary contracts rather than sackings.

“The way to deal with it is through a very clear, deliberate plan,” he told The Australian, while also advocating for caps on the public sector headcount.

Additionally, a future Dutton government risked being “hoodwinked” by senior public servants, who would push back against cuts to centralised administration as opposed to frontline services, Mr Newman said.

Attacks from Labor and the union movement, who relentlessly campaigned against the LNP’s cut to public service numbers that contributed to its crushing 2015 election defeat, also threatened to stymie any moves to public service numbers, he said.

“That’s why (Queensland Premier David) Crisafulli is so concerned to not talk about the size of the public service.”

Despite the opposition’s oft-repeated criticism, its public service spokeswoman Jane Hume would not reveal Coalition policy on the matter.

“The Coalition will announce our policy for the public service ahead of the election,” Senator Hume said on Tuesday when asked whether it would achieve a reduction in headcount.

While arguing that a “world-class public service” should be maintained, Senator Hume said Australians should not be expected to foot the bill for its expansion if services deteriorated.

“The Coalition will make sure we … create an efficient public service that delivers on its promise to Australians and delivers the essential services that Australians expect and require,” she said.

While politically difficult, promising to cut the federal bureaucracy and thereby reducing Australia’s $30bn public sector wages bill could allow the ­Coalition to claim significant spending cuts. At present, the Opposition Leader and his shadow cabinet are yet to outline a single meaningful savings measure.

Redundancies, forced or voluntary, would still present upfront costs, requiring significant payouts to affected public servants who are often employed on contracts with far more lucrative terms and conditions than in the private sector.

Labor has ramped up its attacks against the Coalition following its criticisms of public service growth, accusing the opposition of harbouring plans to cut the number of federal bureaucrats. “[The Coalition] just want to wander around pretending that they can sack public servants and deliver services. It’s ridiculous,” Canberra-based Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told reporters earlier this week.

“We will be campaigning on this and yes, we will be holding him to account for this.”

Mr Dutton’s comments have also mobilised the Community and Public Sector Union, previously led by Senator Gallagher, which is similarly campaigning against the Coalition.

Despite the opposition’s criticism, former Coalition governments have had limited success in permanently reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy.

Under the newly elected Abbott government, the number of FTE positions shrank by more than 10,000 over two years, falling to approximately 165,600 in 2015-16 and holding at that level for around four years, according to the federal budget.

From there, the size of the public service began gradually to expand, reaching 173,100 FTE positions by the end of the Morrison government, a level not dissimilar to those recorded by the Rudd and Gillard governments.

Since the election of the Albanese government, that uptrend has continued with the May budget estimating the number of FTE bureaucrats at 209,150 for the current financial year.

Labor says the increased headcount reflects its efforts to rebuild the public service, which it argued was hollowed out by the former Coalition government’s reliance on consulting services. The PwC tax leaks scandal lent further credence to the government’s claims.