Senator Hon Katy Gallagher Radio Interview - 4CA Cairns

MURRAY JONES, HOST: Well, I wish I had a dollar for every time a bloke said to me in Tropical North Queensland when it came to maybe buying something, maybe a new toy or something, oh, well, I don't know about this, I better talk to the Minister for Finance. Well, this morning I've got the real Minister for Finance, she joins me, it's Katy Gallagher, good morning, Katy. How are you today?

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR FINANCE: Good morning, Murray, how are you?

JONES: Really good. Couldn't help that one, but it's one of those sayings.

GALLAGHER: Yeah, no, it's a good one.

JONES: You get you're in Tropical North Queensland. Let's talk about something that I guess has become very starkly evident here in Tropical North Queensland, particularly after our floods back in late 2023 and just in the last week or so with what's happened a little bit further south from Cairns, and some of the services provided by entities such as Services Australia with offices and basic social workers providing support at a number of service centres in Townsville and across Tropical North Queensland, these hubs providing in-person assistance to around 500 people already just in the last couple of weeks and right across the state, and have helped process nearly $4 million in support payments to those affected. Particularly when we have these types of disasters in our part of the world, having services from the government is so essential and as so many of our audience would know, when you're trying to get hold of a department, getting something sorted out, having these departments properly funded is essential moving forward.

GALLAGHER: Yeah, absolutely, couldn't agree more. You know, I was in Townsville yesterday, Cairns today, really wanting to say thank you to all of the public servants from Services Australia and also of course the defence forces that have been up here working hard to repair infrastructure in the Far North. And you know, they've done an amazing job getting payments out, being right on site to help people in recovery hubs and spaces like that, and it makes a difference when you've got local people helping local people, I think. And that's why these jobs are so important to regions like Far North Queensland. Really, I'm now the Minister for Government Services, so the opportunity to meet with staff from Services Australia and talk to them about what's been going on in the last month or so, but also the work they do every day, it's pretty extraordinary. And I'm really proud to be their Minister because of the hard work they do servicing the local community.

JONES: And look, it's essential, particularly as we get older, wanting those services, so important. But I can understand maybe not quite to the degree of what's happening say in the United States at the moment, obviously there can be savings and there is some waste when it comes to you know, certain aspects of government services. But I guess finding that balance there of not gutting things - I was mentioning this just before the news at 7.30, as the former Queensland premier Campbell Newman will know, after taking the razor to quite a few of the government services, it did not go down well for him at the ballot box. So, getting that balance of ensuring that people have the services that they do need but also trimming a bit of fat, a bit of the fat there from the public sector.

GALLAGHER: For sure, I mean, we need to make sure that the Budget and taxpayers' funds are used as efficiently and appropriately as we can. And so, we've found a lot of savings over the last couple of years. In total, $92 billion that we've been able to put back into services like frontline service delivery in places like Services Australia. Because the public service is there to serve the public, make sure you get your payments on time, if you've got a problem to follow that up and address it. So yes, absolutely totally agree, you should always be looking to drive efficiency and make sure we're working as hard as we can for people, but we also have to be realistic that you need people in regions, in local communities, to actually deliver the services. And that's probably where we have a disagreement with Peter Dutton who's sort of following that Campbell Newman approach, which is that you can cut all these jobs in kind of an easy political kind of campaign of saving money, but when the rubber hits the road and people need these services, they won't be there. And I think people acknowledge how important these jobs are. There's over 1,000 Cairns community members who work in the public service. So, it's a pretty important employer. Same in places like Townsville. And making sure we've got jobs in the region delivering for people is really important.

JONES: That's an interesting point, actually, and it's something that I was made aware of just a few months ago. You know, we talk about the sugar industry, which has always been one of the traditional industries here in Tropical North Queensland, obviously the Tourism Ministry has taken over, a lot of people involved in mining being FIFOs and of course services further north. But when it comes to actually the largest employer in the region, and in most regions these days, it's actually in the public health sector. That's something that a lot of people don't realise.

GALLAGHER: Yeah, we're seeing huge growth in sort of health and social services. And that's partly to do with ageing demographics, like in aged care and healthcare, but also the increasing role of the NDIS. But when you look at places in the Far North, you've also got a lot of people obviously who work at Services Australia, you've got Defence personnel, you've got places like the Great Barrier Reef Authority, the Agriculture, Fishery, Forestry - which of course is protecting our biosecurity and all that, protects jobs. So, I think part of the other thing with the public service is it's such a broad range of jobs that you often don't think about and they're important jobs in the region, too. So, you know, part of my job is to come and talk with people, thank them, but also to make sure people understand how important these jobs are for the local economy, but also to protect Australia and keep us safe and make sure we can deliver services that are needed.

JONES: Wonderful to talk to you this morning, and I guess as we move forward and think about this, because when we need those services, they're so essential and we know the frustration when you can't get hold of a department, you can't get maybe a payment that is due to you that's rightfully yours, but sometimes negotiating the system can be just so difficult, so it's important to find that balance there. Senator and of course, a long list of titles, Minister for Finance, for Women, Public Service and Government Services, Katy Gallagher, been great to talk to you this morning, thank you so much for your time, cheers.

GALLAGHER: Thanks, Murray.