Is the obsession by some politicians and media commentators with a return to surplus placing the quality of Australia’s public services at risk?

CPD’s recent study The State of the Public Service: An Alternative Report suggests that  unnecessary cuts to the APS in order to hastily get back into the black are generally not favoured by the majority of Australians. Many politicians are out of sync with the prevailing attitudes, with some 70 per cent of Australian’s supporting a delayed return to surplus to ensure the quality of public service delivery does not deteriorate.

“Dr Whelan [the author of the report] says he was surprised to find two-thirds of Australians support maintaining or boosting public service funding”

Read more about the report on ABC Online here.

Find more ideas and publications on the Australian Public Service in one of our major research programs here.

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