Millionaire businessman Jim Penman has launched a scathing critique of Australia’s government bureaucracy, suggesting it should be reduced by two-thirds to improve efficiency. Speaking to news.com.au, Penman expressed his disbelief at the current state of the public service, describing it as “so, so bloated.”
“People are un-sackable. It doesn’t matter how badly they do. There is no concern about efficiency whatsoever,” Penman stated. “My best estimate is you could probably cut bureaucracy by two-thirds and you’d have a much better functioning government.”
Penman, who established the Jim’s Mowing franchise network, which generates over $1 billion annually and has expanded into more than 50 services, has been a vocal critic of government policies. He notably opposed the Covid lockdowns in Victoria, with hundreds of his franchisees participating in an unsuccessful class action against the state government.
Political Ambitions and Broader Criticism
In a move that underscores his political ambitions, Penman announced his support for the Libertarian Party in October and is contemplating a run in Victoria’s state election later this year. While he singled out the Victorian government as “particularly appalling,” Penman believes that public sector bloat is a nationwide issue, hampering productivity and contributing to a stringent regulatory environment in business and construction.
“We are really killing ourselves as a nation. The cost is unimaginable,” Penman warned. He identified zoning laws as a primary contributor to Australia’s housing affordability crisis. “In Houston, Texas, where they’ve got limited regulations on zoning, houses cost half what they do here,” he explained. “If you go to San Francisco with high levels of zoning, they cost double or triple what they do here. But then people blame immigration. It’s not immigration – it’s government that’s making it.”
Public Sector Employment: By the Numbers
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were just under 2.6 million public sector jobs in June 2025. Penman proposes reducing this number to less than one million. Roy Morgan’s data indicates that with a total employment of 14.2 million, approximately 18.3 percent of Australian workers were public servants at that time.
Australia’s public sector employment rate is slightly below the OECD average of 18.6 percent. In contrast, Nordic countries like Norway, Sweden, and Denmark report public sector employment close to 30 percent, while in China, nearly 50 percent of workers are in the government sector.
Despite not being particularly large by global standards, the public sector in Australia has been a significant source of job creation post-pandemic. An analysis by the Australian Industry Group reveals that more than 80 percent of jobs created in 2023 and 2024 were in the non-market sector.
Impact on the Economy and Future Outlook
While public sector jobs are essential for delivering crucial services such as health and education, they are generally less productive than market sector jobs. This imbalance can drag on overall productivity and divert labor from the private sector.
Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Wilcox noted a “welcome decline” in government-supported job creation in 2025, with only 90,000 roles added, which is less than a third of the post-Covid peak. “However, the private market sector has yet to fully take up the slack,” Wilcox told news.com.au. “Job creation doubled to 100,000 in the year to September, but this was not enough to compensate for the fall in new government-supported jobs.”
“These extraordinary levels of government-supported job creation were never going to be sustainable to support a productive and growing economy,” Wilcox emphasized.
Wilcox stressed the importance of returning to the historical norm where the majority of jobs are created in the private sector. “It is imperative that governments work to raise private sector investment and hiring levels, so the labor market gets back into balance and employment opportunities for Australians continue to grow and diversify.”
The debate over public sector size and efficiency is likely to continue as Australia navigates its post-pandemic economic recovery. Penman’s remarks have sparked discussions on the role of government in job creation and economic growth, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to public and private sector employment.
