Tim Storer (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

An efficient, professional and well-resourced public service is at the heart of a healthy democracy. Without it, people cannot get the services they expect and deserve, and respect for the political process is likely to decline, as is respect for democracy itself. For these reasons, I believe in the value of a well-functioning and well-resourced public service.

How can we solve the many challenges we face as a nation if we do not have the right people working in the public interest to identify policy solutions and programs to address those challenges? I am particularly concerned about the loss of corporate knowledge and the quality of services to the public associated with outsourcing. Between 2013 and 2017 Public Service staffing was cut by more than 14,000, with the government insisting that the level return to, and not exceed, the level of 2006-07. The irony is that this has not necessarily saved money. Over the same period, spending on external consultants has risen from a shade under $400 million to close to $700 million. Nor has it necessarily improved the quality or delivery of services. For example, there were problems with the 2016 census which undermined public confidence in this essential policy-making tool. The data it contains is critical in the development of the widest range of decisions affecting all Australians, from the provision of roads, schools and hospitals to the priorities for budget planning as the age profile of the Australian population changes. Who can forget the cost to the government's reputation of the robo-debt saga, Centrelink's automated debt recovery scheme, and the stress it caused some benefit recipients when it mismatched their employment and payment records? Public servants skilled and experienced in managing benefits would have identified inconsistencies within the computerised system. Targeted recipients would have suffered less anguish, the costs would have been lower and the government would not have suffered all the bad publicity—grief would have been avoided all around. For similar reasons, and to protect our national security, I am opposed to the privatisation of our visa services.

I will do whatever I can to fight these measures. They are short-sighted and reduce the expertise of the Public Service. They have eroded the quality of service Australians have come to expect and in real terms have done little or nothing to reduce the cost to the taxpayer.