Community and Public Sector Union says Coalition’s public service job cuts would damage Tasmania
The national public sector union has warned that the Coalition’s proposed public sector cuts could see hundreds of Tasmanians sacked and the local economy damaged.
Tasmania
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The Coalition’s plan to axe 41,000 federal public service jobs if it wins the election would result in the sacking of hundreds of Tasmanian workers and damage the state’s economy, the national public sector union has claimed.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has pledged to overhaul the Australian Public Service, targeting “wasteful” government spending.
The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has described the proposal as “the worst attack on public services we’ve ever seen”.
In a Talking Point in the Saturday Mercury, CPSU Tasmanian regional secretary Zac Batchelor says that if the Coalition’s cuts were delivered proportionally across federal agencies in the states and territories, Tasmania would stand to lose about 989 jobs.
Tasmanian Liberal senator Claire Chandler, however, has denied this, saying the “reductions” would not be proportional and that the Coalition would be “focusing on Canberra roles that are not front line” and have been added since the Albanese government was elected in 2022.
Mr Batchelor said 71 per cent of all new Australian public service jobs created under Labor were based outside the capital, which potentially meant more than 29,000 non-Canberra roles would be cut.
“The Opposition likes to use outdated data to support a claim that services haven’t improved, but the facts tell a very different story,” he said.
“There are around 5000 public service jobs here in Tasmania. From the top of our state in Burnie and Devonport right down to the bottom in Hobart. These are good quality, well-paid jobs held by locals, doing a range of essential work including supporting our veterans and pensioners, working in our defence sector, the NDIS and assisting with the administration of our immigration system.
“It’s clear to me that Peter Dutton’s plan to gut public services, axe jobs and wind back workers’ rights doesn’t benefit Tasmania one bit.”
Senator Chandler said the Coalition would “guarantee front line service delivery roles” in Tasmania if it came to government.
“Under Labor, growth in Commonwealth bureaucrats is out of control. In just three years the Albanese government has increased the number of bureaucrat positions by more than 41,000,” she said.
“This is an increase of more than 20 per cent – but service delivery has gone backwards.
“For every public service job that is created, Australians have to work harder and pay more taxes to pay for it.”
Mr Dutton revised his job cut target up from 36,000 last week after the federal budget showed Labor planned to hire an additional 3400 government employees in 2025-26.
“We want an efficient public service, but growing by 40,000 the number of public servants in Canberra is not going to help families put food on their table or deliver the services that they need as a family or as a pensioner,” the Liberal leader said last Wednesday.
It’s not yet clear where exactly in the public service the Coalition’s proposed job cuts would be made.
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