Senator Jane Hume says the Coalition will force public servants back into the office five days a week. Photo: Adam Taylor.
The Coalition will force Australian Public Service employees to return to the office five days a week if it is elected, despite the sector’s latest work agreement guaranteeing flexibility.
Shadow finance minister Jane Hume delivered a speech in Sydney Monday night (3 March) to the conservative think tank the Menzies Research Centre, devoting much of it to the public service and what she described as its need to be more efficient.
A Peter Dutton-led government, she said, would take away public servants’ “blank cheque” to work from home.
“There are many talented, driven people in the Australian Public Service, and if elected, I want them to come back to the office with me to help solve these challenges,” Senator Hume said.
“Using existing frameworks, it will be an expectation of a Dutton Liberal government that all members of the APS work from the office five days a week.
“Exceptions can and will be made, of course, but they will be made where they work for everyone rather than be enforced on teams by an individual.
“This is common sense policy that will instil a culture that focuses on the dignity of serving the public, a service that relies on the public to fund it, and a service that respects that funding by ensuring they are as productive as possible.
“A public service that respects its resources and a government that is disciplined in its fiscal management can deliver more effective and more efficient services for Australians.
“Expecting more from government is both reasonable and essential for a healthy democracy.”
The Coalition would somehow find a way to get around the workplace agreement reached in 2023 between the current Labor government and the Commonwealth Public Sector Union that gives employees unlimited work from home days if sanctioned by their managers.
But it won’t be going down the path of the Trump Administration in the US, Senator Hume said, and install an Elon Musk-type overlord to find efficiencies.
“It doesn’t require a new department, or a tech billionaire,” she said.
“But it does require a change of government, a restoration of disciplines Labor has abandoned, and a back-to-basics approach.
“Under a Dutton Liberal government, Australians will know that the taxes they pay are being spent in Australia’s best interests.”
ACTU president Michele O’Neil, however, said the Coalition will do in Australia exactly what Donald Trump is doing in the US, by using big business backers to start rolling back the clock on workers’ rights
“Ending work-from-home arrangements in this Trump copy-cat plan is really an attack on flexible work arrangements and it will hurt working women the most,” she said.
“Flexibility around where you work is helping 36 per cent of Australians balance busy lives and earn more money.”
During her speech, Senator Hume outlined a number of examples she says point to waste in the public service and a misuse of taxpayer dollars.
“There are plenty of public servants who know the current system is not working,” she said.
“We know some departments and agencies are telling stakeholders not to schedule meetings on Mondays or Fridays as there will likely be no one in the office.
“In one instance, a stakeholder travelled to Canberra only to be shown into a meeting room where they were greeted by all departmental participants dialling in from home.
“One public servant told my office that one of their colleagues worked from home five days a week. They were frequently uncontactable and thus unreliable.
“Why? Because while they were working, they were also traveling around Australia with their family in a campervan.”
Senator Hume : “There are plenty of public servants who know the current system is not working.” Photo: File
CPSU national secretary Melissa Donnelly described Senator Hume’s speech as “the latest attack from Peter Dutton and the Coalition on the public sector”.
“The CPSU negotiated new industry-leading rights for public sector workers, including work-from-home rights in the last round of bargaining,” Ms Donnelly said.
“These arrangements work well and research has shown that working from home increases productivity. It also supports people to work more hours, earn more money, and balance things like caring responsibilities for little kids and ageing parents.
“The last thing workers need in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis is Peter Dutton coming in and swinging an axe at their working rights and conditions. He should be supporting women to stay in the workforce, not making it harder.”
