Efficiency dividend to be more efficient > An increase in the Public Service Efficiency Dividend to 4 per cent.

Unions, Greens condemn public service cuts > Unions and the Greens have been quick to condemn the proposed budget cuts for Commonwealth departments.The Government says the increased efficiency dividend, or savings program, can be achieved without forced redundancies.

Civil Service ‘will adapt as needs change’, says top civil servant > Top civil servant calls for more heart in policy making, implementation

Guardian Focus podcast: public sector strike >    Unite’s Rachael Maskell, Matthew Sinclair of the Taxpayers Alliance and Tom Clark discuss this week’s public sector strike over the reform of pensions. With Hugh Muir

Job cuts planned during critical period > “Decentralisation is just an excuse to cut jobs,” he said. ”Already, only about 200 of 700 [Office of Water] jobs are Sydney-based but they play a very important function in supporting regional water management by providing many of the high-level science, policy and planning functions.”

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