The Centre for Policy Development has produced a report on Austalia's public services, which face challenges strikingly familiar to our own. Notably plans by the opposition right wing Coalition to cut public spending by $70 billion, shutting down entire government departments if they enter government at the next general election:
http://cpd.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/CPD_OP12_2011_State_of_APS_Whelan.pdf
