By Paul Hemsley and Julian Bajkowski The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has made a reinvigorated push stop the states and Canberra from dumping more service delivery functions on the doorsteps of councils without sufficient and ongoing funding. The peak body’s submission to the Abbott government’s National Commission of Audit, which is tasked with reviewing […]
3 December, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski The conspicuous collapse of the Coalition’s promise to slash 12,000 federal public service jobs through natural attrition has been quickly followed by revelations that parts of the bureaucracy are looking at radically redefining job structures and pay grades in an apparent bid to limit forced retrenchments. The Community and Public Sector Union […]
22 November, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski The Abbott government’s promise that its cull of 12,000 positions from the federal public service will only come through ‘natural attrition’ is coming even further unstuck after the Department of Agriculture told staff it wants 220 voluntary redundancies. An all staff email from Agriculture Department secretary, Paul Grimes, candidly admits that “natural […]
12 November, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski The private sector and medical providers could soon have a much bigger say in how Australia’s ailing efforts to create a national system of electronic health and medical records unfolds. The Abbott government has revealed it now wants substantial input on what non-government providers can contribute to make eHealth a reality after […]
4 November, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Federal departments and agencies have been hit by an official hiring freeze as the Abbott government attempts to cull 12,000 public service jobs without resorting to redundancies as it tries to bring down government staffing costs. The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC), the federal bureaucracy’s industrial umpire, has issued a notice that […]
1 November, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski A proposal to use Australia Post’s retail footprint to deliver shopfront services for welfare agency Centrelink has drawn immediate fire from the union representing federal public servants. The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has warned that although a “one-stop shop where you can sort out your mum’s pension entitlements and pick-up […]
29 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski The union representing federal public servants has cautioned the Abbott government against instigating a Queensland-style “slash and burn” program of cuts through its National Commission of Audit announced this week. Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) National Secretary, Nadine Flood, said that although the new government “clearly has a mandate to conduct […]
24 October, 2013
By Julian Bajkowski Beverage companies have rolled out the heavy artillery in an escalating war of words aimed at councils and consumers over the proposed introduction of a National Container Deposit Scheme. In a new advertising campaign the drinks industry likens the idea of putting a price on bottles to reduce rubbish as the equivalent […]
18 October, 2013End of content
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