they are paid $400K/pa or more, sometimes a lot more. they ARE getting CEO money. and then we have heads of departments.. $1M/pa is like "lunch money" to them. in other news, it seems a lot of Australians who are working 5 days a week can not afford rent. we are a great nation.
My point is more that the neoliberal delusion has infested our government, which believes it has to turn a profit. “User pays”. We already pay: it’s called taxes. While some usage charges are valid, not for core services, and identification is a core service.
for sure Ian also, there is that 30 year old concept that "if private companies do it, it must better" which always trumps (sorry for us all) the idea of public service. that is the fetid turd that neoliberal thinking left us.