2016 federal budget

ANALYSIS: A discussion paper, slipped into the recent federal budget, has asked for help with a fiscally neutral way forward for universities. But it also points to a new package option with profound implications.

OPINION: Time will tell whether the $500 million of recycled efficiency savings improves the APS, or simply props up lucrative consultancy gigs. The CEO-PM knows better than to think starving the beast improves capability.

OPINION: Three years on and the government’s election eve budget was always going to be a cautious affair. The public sector has been largely left alone, but threatens to be made irrelevant if it doesn’t disrupt itself.

Independent but publically owned indigenous bodies are getting the funding they need but will need to prove their ongoing viability and service standards. It follows the success of contestability in indigenous policy.

A new 1300-strong ATO taskforce will lead the Turnbull government’s efforts to get what it believes it is owed by multinational corporations who avoid tax.

The federal government maintains it needs no more public servants than its predecessors from when the staff on public payroll was 167,596 and there were four million fewer Australians. One agency is doing much of the heavy lifting.

A blunt-force efficiency dividend is only one tool in the government’s agenda for a lean, innovative public service. Efficiencies should allow agencies to reallocate resources towards policy priorities.

A $500 million public sector productivity fund will drive automation, business re-engineering and other efficiency initiatives. It will be financed by $1.9 billion of agency savings from a reduced efficiency dividend.

After the PM announced the federal budget would come forward by a week, Victoria also readjusted to give itself airtime. Will others follow? Here are the states and territories most affected by Turnbull’s big decision.