Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In recent weeks, I have spoken to dozens of public servants across the northern suburbs of Brisbane. They are absolutely dismayed by the attacks on their living standards and rights at work by the Commonwealth government. The government have demonstrated, yet again, their contempt for working people. I notice the smiles across the aisle. They have no respect for those who work in the public sector whatsoever or the contribution that they make to the living standards and the wealth of our country.

Since these people opposite came to government, they have sacked something like one in 10 public sector workers. Those that are remaining have suffered real wage decreases while watching their jobs become increasingly casualised and fearing that the ultimate goal is the outsourcing or privatisation of their employment opportunities. At no stage has there been any genuine consultation with their own workforce. Orwellian language such as jobs being 'reimagined' or 'refreshed' is simply a substitute for people being shafted.

If you are an executive in the Australian Public Service, you have had a real pay increase. If you are on average weekly earnings, which the majority are in the public sector, you have received a real pay decrease. Those in the Department of Human Services, covering Medicare, Centrelink and child support, have had a particularly tough time. This has resulted in reduced staff numbers in service centres and on the phone lines, which has led to increased waiting times for many increasingly distressed Australians. But it is not just those who are in immediate distress. We are also talking about doctors who are waiting for prescription authorisations. We are talking about Medicare rebates for the ill and infirm, who are waiting up to a month for complex claims to be repaid. We are talking about new claims for age pensioners, which are months behind. And we are talking about pharmacy PBS claims. There are literally tens of thousands of Australians who are waiting and waiting and waiting on phone lines for much-needed assistance.

Over 100,000 Australian government workers are now in their sixth year of what was supposed to be a three-year collective bargaining agreement. They are committed public servants—they support families and they have done so without a pay rise for three years—and they are struggling to hold on to the basic workplace rights and conditions that other Australians sometimes take for granted, particularly family-friendly rights that give some hope of balancing work and family.

So what are they being offered by the government? Two per cent plus, at the same time, ripping away all of their basic rights and conditions. They are up for a fair dinkum deal, but a fair dinkum deal is not being offered. What is actually being offered is a decrease in their conditions— (Time expired)