print this page
© Copyright Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Public Service Commission
Home page
> Minister > Archive > Speech
‹ Previous page
Ministerial speeches and media releases - Archive
Reform of the Australian Public Service
The Hon. Peter Reith MP
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service
Canberra - 13 July 1997
I pay tribute to the Australian Public Service (APS) for its willingness to embrace the need for reform. The positive approach by the majority of public servants can only enhance the reputation of the APS within the Australian community.
As announced by the Prime Minister on Friday, I am soon to be appointed as Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business. In consequence, I will relinquish my responsibilities, held since March 1996, for the APS. The public service has already commenced a complete overhaul of its rules and regulations, triggered by the Government's introduction of agency- level bargaining, and statutory reform is also at an important stage.
The Public Service Bill 1997, which was introduced into Parliament on 26 June 1997 after a comprehensive consultation process, was described on 11 July by Melbourne Age writer Alan Kohler as:
"... the most uncompromising deregulation of the Public Services anywhere in the world -- including Jeff Kennett's revolution in Victoria, the Tory Government in Britain and reform in New Zealand.." [and is] "...one of the great pieces of government employee relations legislation -- simple, clear and powerful..."
Many hundreds of public servants across Australia have contributed to the development of the reform Bill and volunteered their time and effort to shape its content. I thank those many public servants who also met personally with me in focus group meetings around the country for their directness and honesty in detailing their workplace experiences and for sharpening my own views on how the service functions and strives to deliver policy and programs.
Upon coming to office, the Federal Government inherited an Act written in 1922 and an array of other regulations for the Australian Public Service (APS) which run to almost 520 pages (the new Bill is only 36 pages in length) and is virtually incomprehensible to the best legal counsel let alone the public servants it is intended to assist and guide. A contemporary workforce of over 100,000 employees deserves better than this. And the public deserves a better deal for its tax dollars as well. They should not have to pay for personnel practices which, as even the Labor Government acknowledged, cost more than twice best practice in the private sector.
I particularly acknowledge the effort of the Public Service Commissioner, Dr Peter Shergold, his Deputy Dr Peter Kennedy and team leader Jeff Lamond for their assistance in developing the new Bill.
I thank the Department of Industrial Relations, particularly those staff directly involved, for their unstinting efforts. I also thank the Office of Parliamentary Counsel for capturing in the drafting of the Bill the simplicity of language and style which the Government has rigorously sought as a key feature of the new legislation.
When passed by the Senate later this year, the Public Service Bill will have an enduring impact on the form of contemporary legislation at State and Federal levels and all those involved in its development should be congratulated.
I appreciate the willingness of CPSU National Secretary Wendy Caird, CPSU Assistant National Secretary Doug Lilly, Tim Pallas and Peter Moylan of the ACTU for their willingness to work closely with the Government to manage professionally the issues associated with the passage of the Public Service Bill.
Whilst there are many issues still to be resolved, the unions have come to acknowledge the need for real reform and indeed have recently dropped their opposition to the Government's industrial relations reforms for the public service, which include substituting agency-level bargaining for the previous service-wide approach.
I caution the public sector union leadership against drifting too far from their members' views on reform in the APS.
There is a real desire on the part of public servants to be a part of the modern workforce and to have access to its flexibilities and simplified administrative processes and to contribute to improving workplace efficiencies. They do not want unions to price them out of jobs by holding onto outdated views about how the APS should be run.
I also welcome warmly the choice of Dr David Kemp MP, Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training, as the new Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service. His appointment will ensure that the momentum for reform will be maintained and that it will be handled professionally and well.
For further information, contact Nick Hordern: 0419 423 756
