Labor has backflipped on its 2022 election promise to rebuild the public sector, following reports the Government plans to slash 5% of spending off the public service.
The Greens say if Labor wants to tighten the public purse, it should rein in its overspending on consultancy firms instead of cutting the public service.
As stated by Greens finance and public service spokesperson Senator Barbara Pocock:
"The Government's abandonment of the public sector tells you everything about today's Labor party. Yet again, corporate profits get put ahead of people, and big consultants come out ahead.
"Labor's dubbing this a 'reprioritisation' but it's got its priorities all wrong. How can the Government promise to rebuild Australia's public sector while arbitrarily slicing 5% off the public service?
"Arbitrary cuts of the public sector will fuel renewed spending on big consultants and labour hire, at three times the cost. It makes no sense at all!
"Labor spent nearly $1 billion on outsourcing work to consulting firms in 2024-25, more than the last year of the Morrison government in 2021-22. The Labor government increased its spending on consulting contracts every year of the last parliament, despite boasting savings on consulting contracts - that's the real issue here - the government should be focusing on cost cutting its consultancy addiction.
"We've seen millions of dollars wasted by this government on outsourcing core government work to consultants for rubbish results. The BoM website revamp debacle and Deloitte's AI bungle are a joke - and Australians are rightly asking where is the value for money? Instead, Labor could be investing this money into strengthening our public service or keeping CSIRO scientists employed.
"The Australian public want to know their taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately. This government should not be contracting out core work to overpriced consultants when this work can and should be done by our public service with far less cost.
"In the midst of a housing and cost of living crisis, we need more investment in key public services, not arbitrary cuts across the board.
"The Greens say Labor's excessive outsourcing of public sector work to the private sector at three times the cost isn't just wasting taxpayers' money, it's eroding Australia's public service."
