The Palmer United Party has vowed that no public servant would lose their job under a government led by billionaire Clive Palmer.
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The vow follows last Friday's mini-budget, in which the Rudd government proposed another $1.8 billion cut to the public service through an increased efficiency dividend from next July.
ACT Senate candidate Wayne Slattery told Fairfax Media that there would be no public service job losses under a Palmer United Party government.
“The only cuts that will be made will be through natural attrition,” he said.
“When someone retires, their position will be made redundant.”
Mr Slattery said confidence in the public service was also vital for businesses in the capital.
“We believe that a healthy public service means a healthy economy, especially in Canberra,” he said.
His comments follows a move by the Community and Public Sector Union to extend the suspension of its election campaign support of the Labor Party in protest of the government’s plans to increase the efficiency dividend.
The plan to push the efficiency dividend from 1.25 per cent to 2.25 per cent could result in the loss of up to 5000 positions, according to CPSU national secretary Nadine Flood.
“The cuts announced on Friday are a blow for public sector workers who are already struggling with the impact of previous cutbacks and job losses,” she said.
“We understand that times are tough, but you only have to walk into a Centrelink office to know the queues are already long enough.”
