Angus Taylor hints at reviving Coalition APS cuts policy | The Canberra Times

canberratimes.com.au · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has left the door open to reviving the Coalition's former policy to slash the Australian public service.Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue readingSave 30%All articles from our website & appThe digital version of Today's PaperCrosswords, Sudoku and TriviaAll other in your areaAsked if he would bring back the proposal - taken to the 2025 election by his predecessor Peter Dutton and advocated by Mr Taylor as shadow treasurer - as "a way of reigning in government spending", he declined to rule it out."I'm not going to announce all our policies today, but what I will say is government has to be fit for purpose, it has to be effective," Mr Taylor told Sky News on Sunday morning."It has to be able to deliver the services that Australians want and deserve and that will be our focus."Mr Taylor and his deputy Jane Hume have promised a focus on restoring Australia's living standards through lower taxes (while conceding the decision to oppose Labor's tax cuts at the 2025 election was a mistake) and addressing the cost-of-living crisis, with a strong focus on immigration.New deputy opposition leader Jane Hume and opposition leader Angus Taylor. Pictures by Keegan Carroll, Gary RamageThe Coalition's former policy to remove 41,000 public servants - which Mr Dutton had changed to say only Canberra-based roles would be cut - was based on the number of extra roles added since Labor won the 2022 federal election.The focus on Canberra public servants was criticised as not making mathematical sense, given that just 68,000 full-time equivalent federal bureaucrats (37 per cent) are based in the ACT.Mr Dutton and Senator Hume, who was opposition finance and public service spokesperson, also drew criticism for rolling out an election policy - retracted after a public backlash - to force public servants back to the office full time. Asked by Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell if Senator Hume - who along with being the face of the work-from-home policy drew criticism with her campaign comments about "Chinese spies" - could be relied on to not "make the same sort of mistakes again," Mr Taylor said his deputy had acknowledged her errors. "I know she will be a magnificent contributor to the team, to getting our priorities right and to communicating that to the Australian people in the coming months." The Albanese government, which is looking for savings ahead of its next federal budget, has itself not ruled out a reduction in APS headcounts, though its standard line is that the public service is "about the right size" at the latest count of an average staffing level (ASL) of about 213,000 in the March budget.Opposition Leader Angus Taylor won't rule out a policy to cut the APS. Picture by Gary RamageSome economists warn that Labor has underbudgeted for public sector wages, which according to an analysis of Parliamentary Budget Office costings by the Australian Financial Review would require $11.8 billion of additional or redirected spending or a 28,000 reduction to the APS-wide average staffing level (ASL).Finance and Public Service Minister Katy Gallagher has repeatedly said that the government believes the APS is "largely the right size" and is "not looking to reduce ASL".Senator Gallagher has said the savings drive is not about reducing the size of the APS and told the Senate in November: "We need to ensure that we've got resources available to meet all of the pressures that are coming the way of the public service."Department heads have also been told to find savings by reducing their spending on non-wage costs like travel, hospitality and property expenses, which the government promised to reduce by $6.8 billion over four years from 2025-26. More from Federal PoliticsDailyYour morning newsToday's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update.