The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) has reacted strongly to revelations at a Parliamentary Committee hearing into contracting in the Australian Public Service (APS) that some contractors refer to the APS as ‘The Dairy’.
The union said this confirmed the urgent need to crack down on spending on consultants, contractors and labour hire.
Four consultants, Deloitte, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and EY, faced questioning from the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit inquiring into the $1.7 billion in Commonwealth work they had secured in the past five years.
According to the CPSU, the Joint Committee heard that consultants used the nickname ‘The Dairy’ because their approach to the Commonwealth was to “milk it for all it’s worth”.
Assistant National Secretary of the CPSU, Michael Tull (pictured) said the Parliamentary scrutiny came at the same time as Departmental submissions to the APS Review confirmed the Government’s cap on staffing numbers was driving outsourcing to consulting firms and through contractors and labour hire arrangements.
“This is a national disgrace,” Mr Tull said.
“These huge multinationals are shamelessly milking the APS dry.
“Giving $1.7 billion to Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY means that’s a huge sum of money that can’t be used to provide quality public services or to build much needed Public Service skills and capacity.”
