“The Albanese government’s secret committees to exert shadow government influence over the independent public service is a direct abuse of public trust", said Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations & Employment, Tim Wilson, this morning.

Mr Wilson’s comments follow reports in The Australian that the Albanese government has established shadow oversight committees to exercise unelected influence over the direction of the Federal public service.

“Labor’s first order of business has been to entrench union power, not serve the public interest. These secret committees reward ALP-affiliated unions to extract patronage and shadow government influence over the public service".

"When Australians voted on 3 May the Albanese government didn't tell Australians they'd license secret committees that would run shadow government influence".

"Two months in we don't have to guess who the Albanese government is for anymore: it's their patrons who have proximity to power ".

“These shadow government committees give the Albanese government a pathway to exert menacing power over the public service while claiming they’re one step removed”.

“Shadow government committees aren’t a sign of transparent government, it’s a sign of secret agendas, the manipulation of power, intimidation of the public service with tax invoices sent to the taxpayer”.

“The public service isn’t a vehicle to achieve the Labor Party’s ends, it’s there to advance the interests of Australians. It's now clear before the public service can act for Australians it has to get the nod from unelected ALP-affiliated patrons".

"Albanese's shadow government committees compromise the independence of the public service to advance the best interests of Australians, and instead rewards the ALP's patrons with proximity to power", Mr Wilson said.