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Why we should be concerned about Home Affairs contractor purge

Source: The Canberra Times, 20/11/2018

Sources have said the reason the contractors has been cut loose is
due to budget pressure, but the department would only say it had
reassessed its priorities and allocated spending elsewhere.
These contractors are generally highly-skilled specialists in the
industry â€` they knew that by signing up to high hourly rates they
also took the risks associated with being contracted instead of
employed, but we should still pause to consider the abrupt end to
their work.
The ramifications will be felt by the contractors, their families,
and those left behind in the department trying to pick up the
pieces. The taxpayer will also feel the impact, with funds already
spent on projects that we may never experience benefits from, or
will only feel those benefits years later than originally planned.
Home Affairs would only say that some projects had been `paused,
slowed-down, or ceased,` with no further clarification. When will
we know what promised benefits we will now miss?
This incident highlights many of the issues around the
government`s reliance on contractors to get core work done. While
Public Service Minister Mathias Cormann is a fierce proponent of
the use of contractors to give the government expertise and
flexibility, the reality is that in many areas contractors aren`t
brought on for specific short-term tasks, but end up rolling from
project to project.
This trend is amplified in the IT sector, where Home Affairs spent
$687 million on IT and computer services between 2012 and 2017.
It is a widely-held view that the public service lacks capability
and resources due to the reliance on hired expertise. When the
work is consistently and overwhelmingly contracted out,
institutional knowledge is not held within the department, meaning
lessons are not learned and mistakes repeated.
The union has long been campaigning against the increasing use of
contractors and consultants in the public service, arguing that in
some cases big consulting firms are making a profit off work that
should be done by public servants. Conversely, when it comes to
labour hire, contractors working in similar roles take home less
pay than their public servant counterparts, with less security.
The contractors who are affected will be considering their next
move, working out how to support themselves while waiting for work
to come up elsewhere. The public servants still employed must now
do more, with less.
They, like many others, will be asking why this department in
particular has needed to make such sudden and deep cuts due to
budget pressure. Formed less than a year ago, and headed by
powerful minister Peter Dutton and influential secretary Michael
Pezzullo, its work in securing the country`s borders has long been
a centre-piece of the government`s pitch to voters. If Home
Affairs is feeling the squeeze, what is happening elsewhere?
Or has the embarrassment of riches that comes with being the
government`s favourite been managed poorly, leading to last week`s
swinging of the axe?

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