Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to contribute some remarks in relation to the Select Committee on Job Security's second interim report and to build on the comments made by my colleague Senator Faruqi about the impacts on the Public Service. I too would like to commend the work of the committee and the excellent report that they've tabled that we're speaking to now.

It's no surprise that successive governments have privatised our public institutions and have outsourced our essential public services over decades. The APS commission data shows a significant growth in non-ongoing contracts for employees under the Public Service Act of 1999 over the past decade. Evidence to this inquiry has laid bare that outsourcing and contract work has resulted in more expensive, lower quality and less transparent service delivery, which has resulted in a gutting of the capabilities within the public sector, and employees being paid less and having less job security and less job satisfaction. Efficiency dividends have actually reduced efficiency, and in-house capabilities have also been reduced by increasing reliance on ad hoc external recruitment. Staffing caps have not reduced overall staffing expenses, but they have eroded staff security and retention. The 2021-22 budget allocation to increase staffing levels was very welcome, albeit very late, and it was a recognition that years of cuts, privatisation and dodgy outsourcing deals have not worked. But the announced increases are not enough to undo the decade of ideologically driven cuts and outsourcing. Rebuilding staffing levels and strengthening job security within the Public Service is what we need to ensure that Australia has high-quality services at a lower cost to the public and a better deal for workers. We strongly support the recommendations in the interim report directed at achieving that outcome.

In relation to the loss of skills and capacity, the CPSU told the inquiry that labour hire and consultants regularly undertake work that should be core public service business, and, as outlined in the report, they believe that this has eroded the skills base within the Public Service, it's compromised service delivery, it's undermined job security and it has effectively 'abandonment of its role as the custodian of a career public service and the institutions and norms which Australian democracy relies upon'. The final report of the independent review of the Australian Public Service, I might point out, made similar observations.

The Australia Institute report Talk isn't cheapest estimates that the $1.1 billion spent by the Australian government last year on consultancies could have provided secure employment for more than 12,000 public servants and built the ongoing capacity of the public service to meet future challenges. Yet the government has continued to rely on labour hire and to outsource key advice roles to private consultants who do nothing for internal capacity building. Private consultants are often selected on the basis that they'll align with government objectives, they'll tell ministers what they want to hear or they will avoid rubbishing government policy for fear of missing out on future lucrative government contracts.

It's no coincidence that the consultancy firms that are making millions from government contracts are also significant political donors. EY, Deloitte, PWC and KPMG have donated $4.7 million in the last decade. An analysis by the Saturday Paper of contracts published on AusTender between 21 January and 21 October—just nine months—revealed that Deloitte raked in $212.3 million in contracts, EY took $190.7 million and KPMG nabbed $170.6 million. Further, both the terms of consultancy contracts and the advice provided to the government under those contracts are exempt from disclosure under freedom of information laws. This puts a range of significant policy advice out of sight of the public, and that's a trend that's likely to worsen with the government's unjustifiable extension of cabinet exemptions to any advice provided to any committee of national cabinet.

It's clear that the hollowing out of Public Service capability creates a vicious circle that facilitates an ongoing reliance on outsourced policy advice, less accountability and an inherent increased risk of corruption. It has to stop. Australia deserves a strong, independent Public Service that's capable of meeting the education, housing, health, social security, environmental protection and infrastructure needs of our nation. The Greens support the recommendations in this report that call for insourcing of core work and limiting the use of contractors and consultants. We will continue to call for greater transparency of work that's undertaken by consultants to improve public oversight of the calibre, the objectivity and the value for money that's provided by outsourced advice.

In relation to employee conditions, job security is a key factor in employee satisfaction and retention. The inquiry heard very disturbing evidence of public servants working back-to-back contracts but unable to get finance to buy a house on the basis that their role was considered insecure. This is not a situation that dedicated public servants should find themselves in. The CPSU noted the debilitating impact of the ASL policy:

It's not a limit on how much work is done, or how much money is spent, or even how many people can do work on behalf of the government—it's only a limit on secure employment.

The Greens support the recommendation to prioritise ongoing positions over repeat short-term contracts to give employees the confidence and the financial security to plan for the future.

We also note that job insecurity compounds the existing constraints on public servants' freedom to express political views in their private capacity for fear that that will reduce the prospect of their contract renewal. Public servants need to be clear and confident that they can participate in public debate without it impinging on their jobs. In balance of power in the next parliament, the Greens will move to legislate to protect the right of public servants, in their private capacity, to engage in political advocacy, attend rallies, run for public office, participate in their union and represent or be elected to external organisations.

I have a last comment on gender. Given the significant investment of public resources in government contracts, procurement and supply chain policies actually provide great leverage to drive positive social outcomes, including encouraging diversity and closing the gender pay gap. For example, if the government was to set procurement targets for women-led and gender-equal businesses it could help those businesses to grow and could incentivise gender-equal employment practices. So we support recommendations 32 to 34 of the interim report in that regard. We further recommend that any supplier code of conduct sets expectations about gender equality and closing the gender pay gap, and that businesses that are tendering for government services must be able to demonstrate that they have complied with all Workplace Gender Equality Act reporting obligations.

We know this government are addicted to privatisation. We know they love sacking public servants and outsourcing the provision of what used to be publicly owned assets and services, but this report has shown it's not good value for money and it's ripping off both the public servants and the Australian community. It's time to end this obsession with privatisation and sacking workers and start investing in a strong, resilient and frank and fearless Public Service. The Greens continue to be dedicated to that outcome and we commend this report to the chamber.