Sussan Ley thinks the reports departmental heads have been told to find 5% in savings in their public service departments is a broken promise by Labor and also might mean cuts in services, and she supports the public service, but also doesn’t think the cuts go far enough. So bit all over the place it seems.

Ley tells ABC News Breakfast:

In making the commitments that they made, they have let Canberrans down. I’ve said – and I said in an earlier speech – that we do need to live within our means, and we want an efficient Public Service that delivers for all Australians and recognises the responsible role of the Public Service.

I’ve been a public servant in this city and outside it, and I support our Public Service. So it’s not about that. But what on earth is going on in the Labor Party if they are writing to department heads asking for savings – perhaps, I think, it was 5%. By the way, how is that going to solve the over $1 trillion debt that this country is facing? And when we talk about living responsibly within our means, we do it because, when we do live responsibly within our means, we can look after Australia’s most vulnerable. This is because every dollar that you spent on interest on the debt – right now, it’s $50,000 a minute on interest on the debt – is a dollar that you can’t spend on looking after people who are vulnerable, employing doctors and nurses in the public health system, and so on.