The Albanese Labor Government will deliver a further $1 billion in savings from reducing spending on consultants, contractors, and labour hire in the 2024-25 Budget. This is part of the Government’s commitment to reduce the reliance on external labour and rebuild a fit-for-purpose public service that is resourced to deliver the services Australians expect.

This save is in addition to the $3 billion in savings from reducing spending on external labour that the Government delivered in the 2022-23 October Budget, bringing the total savings delivered to $4 billion.

Investments have been made in the Australian Public Service in the past two years. More staff have been employed, service standards are improving, and the reliance on external labour is decreasing - delivering much needed savings across the budget.

We have employed more permanent public servants to rebuild and improve the APS at the same time as reducing the APS's reliance on costly external labour like consultants, contractors or labour hire workers.

DAVID SPEERS, HOST: Katy Gallagher, welcome to the program.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR WOMEN: Thanks for having me on David.

SPEERS: Let's start with this $5,000 grant, who is eligible to access the money?

TOM CONNELL, HOST: Let's get a wrap of the political agenda that has been this week. Joining me now Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman, former Liberal MP Jason Falinski. Gentlemen, thanks as ever for your time. It hasn't been this week for the Government, dare I say it. We'd better start on the detainee issue. What we've learned today, Patrick Gorman, is the Minister's delegates made a call, in fact, on removing this ankle bracelet. This must mean the buck stops with the Minister, doesn't it?

NEIL WILCOCK ("WILKO"), CO-HOST: There was an emergency [national] cabinet held by Anthony Albanese, our PM, and we found out some details yesterday that had been released from that cabinet in regards to an extend of the domestic violence package that already existed. $925 million. Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher is on the line to explain it a little bit more, good morning Katy.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR WOMEN: Good morning, thanks for having me on.

THE HON JULIA GILLARD AC, HOST: Katy, it's not politics that brought you to Canberra, you were born and raised there, like no one's born and raised in Canberra. Can you tell me about that?

ROSS SOLLY, HOST: ACT Senator Katy Gallagher is also the Minister for Women and joins us on the program. Senator Gallagher, good to have you on the show.

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER, MINISTER FOR WOMEN: Thanks for having me on, Ross.

SOLLY: Were you at the meeting today or not?

GALLAGHER: No, it was first ministers only, so, but I –

SOLLY: I would have thought as Minister for Women, that it might have been useful to have you in the room?

Firstly, I want to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands we are on today, the Whadjuk Nyoongar people.

I offer my respect to Elders, past, present and emerging.

I acknowledge the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia and the CEO, Vicki O’Donnell, for hosting today’s event.

I am so pleased to be here with you all. 

We got in about midnight last night. We’ve spent some time in the Torres Strait, seeing how families and organisations are going over there and then Yarrabah and Cairns.

GREG JENNETT, HOST: Malarndirri McCarthy, welcome back to the program, coming to us from Western Australia today. I know that's a long way from where today's National Cabinet meeting was convened by the Prime Minister, he was in Sydney, but we did get a few announcements on domestic violence, particularly the extension of this Leaving Violent Partner Payments Program. How helpful do you think that might be to Indigenous women in particular, no matter where they are in this country remotely or in towns and cities?

Ending men’s violence against women and tackling misogyny and the harm it creates requires concerted action from all levels of government and all parts of society and we are building on investments already made in this space.

To build on our prevention efforts, the Albanese Government will introduce a suite of online measures to address easy access to pornography for children and young people and tackle extreme online misogyny, which is fuelling harmful attitudes towards women.