A think tank has slammed the Abbott government's decision to shed thousands of public servants in the name of efficiency as likely to do more harm than good.
The budget estimates that 16,500 public service jobs will be shed in the next two years.
The premise is that a leaner public sector will deliver better value for taxpayers and ensure resources are redirected to policy priorities.
But Centre for Policy Development research director Christopher Stone says last month's budget assumes smaller government is more efficient.
"It lacks a serious examination of how best to achieve aims with minimal resources and instead simply attempts to minimise services," he says in the report released on Thursday.
The report says the proposed job reductions are similar in scale to the cuts made in the first term of the previous Howard government, which were followed by rapid staff increases within a few years.
The centre argues those fluctuations damage efficiency, strip skills and erode core competencies.
While not perfect, Australia's public service is already relatively efficient when compared to other countries - ranking second behind Switzerland among OECD members - or the private sector.
"The way we discuss public service efficiency damages the country," the report says.
There is a danger of simplistic arguments about cuts and a misguided belief in benefits that do not always flow from outsourcing or privatisation.
Instead, greater emphasis should be put on innovation and professional accountability.
Share
