One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has slammed the Albanese government’s bloated public sector, claiming it’s making our lives worse.
The federal public service has grown to a record-breaking 213,000 staff, up from a 14-year low of 144,704 workers at the end of 2019.
This massive increase is largely made up of compliance, regulation, administrative, and human resources officers tasked with supervising the mammoth public service.
A “Drain” on Taxpayers’ Dollars?
Senator Hanson told Sky News that the expanded public service is a “drain” on taxpayers’ dollars.
“You put in more public servants, that means more taxpayers’ money has to pay the wages, and then on top of that, you’ve got all superannuation on top and then all your benefits and everything,” she said.
Hanson believes the government is using the public service to secure votes, as public servants are likely to vote for Labor due to job security.
A Central Talking Point in the Recent Election
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended his government’s hiring spree during the recent election, while criticizing former opposition leader Peter Dutton’s plan to cull over 41,000 civil servants in the nation’s capital.
Despite vowing to lift lagging productivity and reduce the workforce’s dependency on government support, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed that almost one million workers were employed in federal, state, territory, and local government positions – making up 6.8% of the Australian workforce.