The government will take a knife to the public sector in order to meet its promise of returning the budget to surplus in the next financial year. Releasing the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook today, the government said it would reduce the baby bonus, scrutinize rorts of the living away from home allowance, and postpone some spending measures. But perhaps the greatest burden will be placed on the public sector, which is being asked to find an additional 1.5 billion dollars in savings, on top of significant cuts that had already been announced.

Listen to the full audio story here by producer Tim Roxburgh, 2SER The Wire on Tuesday, 29 November 2011.

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