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Public service union refuses to back Labor at Victorian election, condemning job cuts and $1.2bn consultant spend
Victoria’s Community and Public Sector Union says it will not support Labor at the state election, citing public service job cuts and its claim that the government spent $1.2bn on consultants. The decision adds to growing union discontent with the Carroll government ahead of the 28 November poll.
The union says about 1,000 Victorian public service roles, including more than 300 executive positions, were cut, followed by more than 200 restructures; the government says the changes saved $4bn and did not affect frontline roles. The union’s analysis of government annual reports found consultant spending of $1.2bn across 10 departments since 2017-18, with Treasury and Finance accounting for about $222m. The Coalition has separately proposed an indefinite hiring freeze on back-office roles, which it says would save $22bn over a decade.
In short
- The CPSU will not back Labor at Victoria’s November election.
- It cites job cuts and $1.2bn in consultant spending.
- The Coalition has proposed a long-term public service hiring freeze.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The union can argue that cutting around 1,000 public service jobs and repeatedly restructuring departments risks draining expertise and weakening the government’s capacity to deliver services, even if frontline roles were formally protected. Its reported $1.2bn consultant spend raises a reasonable question about why external advice was needed while public sector roles were being cut, and withholding electoral support gives members a way to press for accountability and a stronger in-house service.
The case against
The government can argue that reducing executive and other public service roles and reorganising departments were necessary to improve efficiency, and says the changes saved $4bn without affecting frontline jobs. Consultant spending across several years and departments may have funded specialised or temporary work that the public service could not readily provide itself, so the headline total alone does not establish waste; voters may also prefer to judge Labor on its wider record rather than this union’s decision.
Explained simply
Victoria’s Community and Public Sector Union represents many state public servants. Labor, led by the Carroll government, is in office in Victoria, where voters are due to elect a state parliament on 28 November.
The union says public service job cuts and spending on consultants are reasons it will not support Labor at the election. The government says its changes saved money and did not affect frontline roles. The opposition Coalition has also proposed a hiring freeze for some government jobs, making the size and organisation of the public service an election issue.
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