Page 1458 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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situation. I think some of his points are fair enough. The public sector workforce in Canberra is highly skilled and delivers an important and highly valued service to the broader Australian community. That is absolutely true, but what we saw last night was no recognition of that in the federal budget. We have seen an ideological drive to gut the public service, and that will do Australia a disservice in the long run.
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra) (12.18): Just the other day when I was shopping at Jamison supermarket I was bailed up by a friend, a grandmother, an Aboriginal woman, worried about her daughter’s job. The daughter is the family’s primary breadwinner. She has served the federal government well for years. Now she is in limbo, sent with others from her branch to the terminator’s waiting room with little to do but witness the slow execution of their careers. The mother, who has lived a hard life and who is very proud of her daughter’s career, asked, “Couldn’t we give one generation a fair go?” This family has endured the reserves, endured the stolen generations.
We know that many more public servants are being lined up for the sack. This federal government has little care for or understanding of the functions they perform or the services they provide. We know many have already been terminated or given voluntary redundancies. Some are being put though the private recruitment agencies tests and interviews as they play musical chairs for the diminishing jobs in their departments.
About a year ago, on May 9 in question time, my fellow member for Ginninderra Mr Coe asked Mr Barr, “Treasurer, will you now write to the current Prime Minister and ask for a commitment to stop job losses here in Canberra?” I ask Mr Coe: will he write to the Prime Minister, trusty Tony Abbott, smokin’ Joe or Senator Zed for a commitment to stop job—
MADAM SPEAKER: Order, Dr Bourke! The convention in this place is to refer to members in this place by their names and I think it is reasonable to refer to other members of parliament by their titles.
DR BOURKE: As Minister Barr replied at the time, the Liberal Party is the party of recession in this city. That has been demonstrated time and again. Before the federal election trusty Tony Abbott spoke of his interest in Aboriginal affairs. He said, “There will be, in effect––
MADAM SPEAKER: Dr Bourke, I have already asked you to refer to members of parliament by their title. I do not want to have to do it again.
DR BOURKE: Before the federal election Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke of his interest in Aboriginal affairs. He said, “There will be, in effect, a prime minister for Aboriginal affairs.” Last night he ripped half a billion dollars out of the Aboriginal affairs budget over the next four years. We have seen him centralise federal public servants working in Indigenous affairs by bringing many of them into his department as second-class citizens on lower pay rates.
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