Australia opposition leader Dutton backs down on work-from-home plan

Peter Dutton apologises for the public servant work-from-home policy. U-turn ahead of federal elections

Australia opposition leader Dutton backs down on work-from-home plan
Australia opposition leader Dutton backs down on work-from-home plan

Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton ditched his plans to end work-from-home policy for federal workers after widespread backlash.

According to The Guardian, Dutton on Monday, April 7, 2025, apologised to the people and acknowledged that his Liberal-National Coalition had "made a mistake" by demanding “all” public servants return to the office.

Dutton told Channel Nine, “We’re listening to what people have to say. We’ve made a mistake in relation to the policy. We apologise for that.”

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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed, “Nobody believes Peter Dutton has changed his mind on work from home. He will rip up flexible work and slash the services you rely on the minute he gets the chance.”

The Coalition party suggested a plan to cull “all” federal workers working from home back to the office and to cut extra public service positions added by Labour since the 2022 election to save “wasteful spending.”

The plan also includes eliminating thousands of jobs to boost efficiency in the public sector. However, critics, including Labour governments, slammed the plan and argued that ending the flexible work-from-home arrangements would disproportionately disadvantage women.

For the unversed, the 2025 Australian federal elections to elect members of the 48th parliament of the country are scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 3, 2025.

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