Counting the cost of cuts

This opinion piece was published in The Canberra Times on 6 February 2012

Dozens of public servants received Australia Day Awards recognising their extraordinary contributions to our nation - from organising the evacuation of Australians caught in war torn Libya to making it easier for Indigenous Australian in remote areas to participate in elections.

This week there have been hundreds of Centrelink and Medicare workers trudging through the mud in flood-stricken Northern NSW providing emergency relief for families affected. Clearly Australians can be proud of the difference public sector workers make.

But a quick scan of the media shows this pride is not reflected in our national political debate. The Canberra Times published a projection that up to 4600 full-time jobs a year could be lost in the Australian Public Service (APS) and military as a result of the Gillard Government’s one-off 4 per cent Efficiency Dividend – or 14,000 over three years, a figure the Government disputes.

Meanwhile across town at the National Press Club, the Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott restated his promise to permanently reduce the size of Government, starting with axing 12,000 jobs if elected. Based on the Coalition’s previous record in Government, it’s safe to assume these cuts would just be the beginning.

So at a time we could be celebrating the fact we have a stable, effective and high-performing public sector - and planning how best to use its talented staff to tackle the challenges ahead - the national debate has been reduced to an arid squabble over projected ‘savings’.

Cuts are the problem, not the solution 

While the Government rightly pays tribute to the achievements of the public sector through the Australia Day Awards - and praises staff involved in disaster relief efforts – this recognition is undermined by an almost relentless program of cuts and saving measures. For too long public service cuts have been seen as an easy way to balance the Budget in the short-term.

However this approach ignores the long-term consequences of losing dedicated and experienced staff. Due to the blunt nature of measures like the Efficiency Dividend, the Gillard Government can’t accurately predict how many public servants will lose their jobs and which services will be wound back.

None the less, the Government continues to claim these cuts can be done without damaging essential services – a position thousands of frontline public sector workers already struggling with staff shortages and shrinking budgets are finding difficult to swallow.

The $1.5 billion efficiency dividend cut and $710 million capital expenditure cut come on top on previous savings measures in travel, accommodation, IT and other areas. The reality is many public service agencies have nothing left to cut except jobs and services.

Centrelink and Medicare workers are facing longer queues and greater pressures as they try and serve the millions of Australians who rely on them. Cuts to Customs and Quarantine compromise our biosecurity. Cuts to the Defence Department mean that soldiers end up behind desks doing jobs that could be done more effectively by civilian staff.

Taken for granted

The low visibility of the Australian Public Service makes it an easy target. It is taken for granted when it works well, and criticised on the rare occasions it fails. Often these criticisms focus on how we can save money by scrapping the program in question, not how we can deliver a better service by giving it appropriate resources.

Like many nations, the Australian ‘character’ is built on myths. Some are of these myth are true – we are generally an egalitarian, generous and laconic people. Other myths are just plain wrong - we don’t all live in the bush, we don’t all wear blue singlets and we certainly don’t all wrestle crocodiles.

Another persistent but misleading myth is that we have an overblown public sector. The truth is Government spending in Australia, as a percentage of GDP, is low compared with the average for developed countries.

In fact the size of the public service is roughly the same as it was 20 years ago, while our population and our expectations of Government have increased significantly. Despite this, whenever governments are in a budget hole, they try to convince us that there are huge savings to be found from cutting consultancies, training or other expenses – as if no one has thought of this before.

Cutting public servants cuts public services – like the Centrelink workers supporting flood-hit families. The quality of the service you get from government relies on agencies having quality staff with enough time and resources to deal with your problem properly.

Cuts are no cure-all

Public sector cuts should not be promoted as a cure-all for our economic woes, or as an easy and painless way to balance the budget. The focus should not be on what cutting the public service would save, but on what we all lose as a result. Like any other piece of infrastructure the public service needs to be maintained properly.

Attracting smart and dedicated people to join the APS is an investment in Australia’s future. It’s a bit like looking after your house. Sure, you can save money now by putting off the house painting for a few years, but if you leave it all too long you risk serious long-term damage.

Recent research by the Centre for Policy Development found that a majority of Australians believe that Government has a critical role in providing essential services such as education, health and welfare.

Similarly, polling by Essential Research late last year showed 71% of Australians would prefer to the Government to delay returning the Budget to surplus, rather than cutting services and investment in infrastructure.

Even if you agree with the premise that the Budget should be returned to surplus immediately, the Government can not ignore the impact these cuts will have on essential jobs and services.

The expertise of the Australian Public Service has been built up over decades. These dedicated and talented staff - and the essential services they provide - are not a liability to the nation’s bottom line, they are a key part of navigating Australia’s future.

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