Finance Minister Gallagher Defends Public Sector Growth Amid Inflation Debate
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Finance Minister Katy Gallagher appeared on ABC Afternoon Briefing to defend the federal government’s public sector expansion, respond to critiques on inflation, and delineate Labor’s ongoing cost-of-living and budget repair strategies following a spike in inflation and continued economic pressures.
Minister Gallagher fielded direct questions regarding the 14% increase in federal public servants since Labor took office, noting, “We have employed more public servants and we’ve been changing from contractors and labour hire in many areas, but we’re also making sure we’re resourcing the public service properly. It wasn’t resourced properly and that meant Australians weren’t getting the services they relied upon… I think the public service is roughly the right size now, give or take.” She linked these hires to improved service outcomes and denied that unchecked government spending is fueling inflation, referencing recent data showing public investments decline while private investment rises.
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Gallagher insisted, “There is a role for government when things are a bit uncertain, when there’s areas of need for government to… invest. And we have been doing that, whether it be energy bill relief or all those cost-of-living measures.” She confirmed ongoing work on the MAIFO mid-year budget update for December and said, “We tapered [energy rebates]… some of the kick up in headline inflation… was due to a lot of the state and territory energy bill rebates coming off.”
When pressed on budget repair, Gallagher responded, “We’ve found $100 billion worth of savings… that’s helped over the last three years, but we’ve got more work to do… Well, that is very much the job of the finance minister too, must be so fun for you.” She forecast further savings in upcoming budget cycles, noting ongoing pressures in “health, aged care, disability… defence.”
The minister also addressed parliamentary dynamics, dismissing claims the government “lost control of the Senate,” and described recent legislative challenges as characteristic of a “minority chamber… a lot of how the Senate conducts its business is done by consensus and cooperation, and there’s been a straining of that in the last fortnight.” Gallagher highlighted the passage of eleven government bills, including the state-sponsored terrorism bill and Priya’s bill on paid parental leave entitlements for mothers of stillborn babies.
On relationships with other parties, Gallagher stated, “Every single thing that happens in the Senate potentially is contested. …But on the fringes, there is tension.” She rejected accusations by the Greens of government secrecy, citing briefings to committees: “We had a bit of to and fro over the Briggs report… I did a briefing in camera for the Finance and Public Admin Committee this morning to provide them with as much information as I could on that.”
Addressing issues of gender in politics, Gallagher, also Minister for Women, observed that critics of Susan Lee’s opposition leadership may reflect persistent gendered expectations: “I think it’s hard to be a female leader in politics, not just from inside politics, from outside as well. I think there’s still a lot of gendered assessment and impacts that the outside politics world places on female politicians, rightly or wrongly… I definitely think women in politics, we still have a fair way to go before we get… are, you know, treated the same as our male colleagues.”
The minister described parliamentary efforts to manage debates on sensitive legislation, referencing Priya’s bill, “We deliberately put time management around it in the Senate, so I had to move a motion restricting debate hours on it because we knew it would go off the rails… And out of respect for Priya’s mum and dad and Priya herself… we felt that we needed to manage that in the Senate because of the nature of the debate.”
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