When in opposition, the Coalition often lambasted the former Labor Government for wasting taxpayer’s dollars on a battalion of communications workers and spin doctors.
Yet, as reported in the Canberra Times over the weekend, the Abbott Government appears to have resorted to the same script, creating a new $4.3 million ‘‘Strategic Communications Branch’’ to monitor social media and offer strategic communications advice to the Government:
Details released in Senate documents show the ‘‘Strategic Communications Branch’’ was implemented late last year, where the 37 staff are expected to oversee media within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet…Before the communications hub was created, there were a ‘‘small number’’ of PM&C staff engaged in speech writing and corporate communications support…
As expected, the Government denies that it is unnecessarily wasting taxpayer’s funds on spin doctors, instead claiming that it has merely streamlined communications into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is slashing the overall cost of public affairs staff across departments.
Regardless, the growing number of spin doctors and ministerial advisers in government ranks has been a growing concern for the nation, which risks having the independence of the public service eroded in favour of short-term, politically expedient, decisions that are against the nation’s longer-term interests.
The apparent growth of spin doctors – both under the former Labor Government and seemingly also under the Coalition – is also at odds with the implementation of strict “efficiency dividends” implemented across the public service, which have required departments to continually slash costs, often to the detriment of their work programs (e.g. the ABS’ recent abandonment of a large number of statistical surveys) and staffing (e.g. Treasury’s planned 30% slashing of staff).
Judging by the implementation of the new ‘‘Strategic Communications Branch’’ by the Abbott Government, it appears the politicisation of the public service is unlikely to abate anytime soon.
