ACTU: Coalition Attack on Public Service

16 October, 2013 | Media Release

Today's announcement confirms the Federal Government intends to commit Australia to follow the failed UK model, rely on unpaid labour, slash jobs and privatise the public sector.

"The government has confirmed they intend to follow a version of the failed British 'Big Society' concept that caused such high unemployment and dysfunctional privatisation in the UK," said ACTU president Ged Kearney.

Ms Kearney said the Coalition has been in the process of campaigning to reduce the role, scope and breadth of government and the public sector.

"This latest announcement of giving more control to charities has much broader implications than first appears."

Charities do a fantastic job but they are there to fill gaps, not take on the full responsibility of supporting all those in need. They already work very hard, are under-resourced and over-burdened. It is the Government's responsibility to protect people and provide a robust public sector, not handball their duties to charities and volunteers," she said.

"What they want to do is privatise vital public services on a massive scale. But without an adequate state controlled safety-net many people will fall through exacerbating inequality and ensuring that we well and truly live in a society of haves and have-nots," she said.

"In the UK it has caused a massive rise in unemployment, where those who once had jobs now face the double barrel of a punitive benefits system and drastically pared-down public services."

She said, "In the UK unpaid labour and the charitable and voluntary sectors were intended to fill the gaps left by public services, however this was too high a burden and what they ended up with was a small number of corporations that are acting as government agents, providing health, education and social services in a for profit system."

"They tried and failed in the UK and now the Australian Government wants to follow that same unfortunate path that caused such polarisation between rich and poor neighbourhoods and greater social divide," Ms Kearney said.

"This subject needs real debate and thorough evaluation. The public should be made well aware of the implication because what is clear is that the government's strategy is to implement its agenda bit by bit so that before we know it, Australia will be a very different nation than it is today."