Coalition’s vow to stop bureaucrats WFH sparks gender row

The Coalition’s vow to stop federal public servants working from home has sparked a fight over government efficiency and gender equity as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of adopting a Trumpist policy.

Federal bureaucrats will be forced back into the office five days a week if the Coalition wins office, opposition finance spokesperson Jane Hume revealed in a speech on Monday after the number of public servants working from home rose sharply in recent years.

The public service union has negotiated generous work-from-home rights in its most recent pay deals with the Commonwealth, even as big private sector employers have tried to curtail the practice that became commonplace during the coronavirus pandemic.

Albanese derided the Coalition as being “lazy” on policy and adopting policies from overseas. “If [the Coalition] hear something on the news, an announcement from overseas about sacking public servants, or people working from home, or DEI – the dreaded inclusion policy they’re so worried about – they say ‘yeah, I’ll have some of that’,” Albanese said.

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“What we need is Australian policies for Australian conditions because we are unashamedly the best country on Earth, and we don’t need to borrow from anyone else.”

Major companies such as the Commonwealth Bank and Woolworths have joined international firms, including JPMorgan and Amazon, in trying to get their staff back to the office.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton defended his pledge, saying it was unacceptable public servants are “refusing to go back to work” when their positions were funded by taxpayers.

He dismissed the argument that female public servants with children would be disproportionately affected by the change, saying the policy would apply across the board and a future Coalition government would apply common sense when considering any exceptions.