Page 1817 - Week 05 - Thursday, 10 May 2018
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Canberra was conceived as the national capital and as the centre of government. It makes sense for the public service to be based here in Canberra. There are people in other cities who love to bash our city and to bash the public service. There are even people in Canberra who love to bash the public service. But this is a very short-sighted view. It is good for the commonwealth government and it is good for Canberra to have commonwealth agencies based here in our national capital. We are lucky to have some of the brightest minds in the country choosing to work in the public service and choosing to make Canberra their home.
The Australian public service, like the ACT public service, is filled with hardworking, dedicated and passionate people who are committed to serving our country. Their contribution to the public service is matched by their contribution to Canberra. They make their homes in Canberra. Their children go to school in Canberra. Their families build their lives in Canberra.
Decentralisation of the public service rips at the social fabric of our society and our city. Public service families will have to make hard decisions about whether to uproot their families and move to another city or give up their jobs serving our country. These hard decisions are why we have seen some previous attempts at decentralisation strip public service capability and blow out costs.
The Canberra Liberals have opposed decentralisation of the federal public service at every turn. Our Liberal senator, Zed Seselja, has steadfastly opposed decentralisation and continues to lobby his government colleagues to this end. He continues to stand up for the ACT and demand that, when decentralisation does occur, jobs be taken from Sydney or Melbourne and not Canberra.
The Canberra Liberals were vocal in our opposition to the relocation of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority from Canberra to Armidale. We expressed these views in public and in private to the federal government. The APVMA move led to more than 60 per cent of staff refusing to move and instead leaving the agency. How much experience was lost and how much institutional knowledge was lost in this misguided attempt at decentralisation? When we lose public servants in highly skilled, highly technical positions it can take years to rebuild that capability. Decentralisation threatens to hollow out the capacity of agencies and puts public service capability at risk.
There are enormous efficiencies in having the public service centralised in Canberra. Agencies benefit from having easy access to their departments and their ministers. This makes face-to-face conversations easy. The relationship between the government and the public service is enhanced by proximity.
Commonwealth government departments and agencies have important policy work and service delivery to do. We are all better off with our public servants spending their money in Canberra, rather than the public service spending more taxpayer money on airfares and travel. Moving jobs simply for the sake of moving jobs also costs the taxpayer money which could be put to much better use.
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