Albanese flags support for WFH after grim cost of office commutes revealed

It comes after the Coalition announced a pre-election policy to bring public service workers back into the office permanently, which saw Dutton suggest working mothers could enter “job-sharing arrangements”.

“We know working from home has a range of advantages. One of those is less time travelling … it’s also enabled people to overcome the tyranny of distance in this great country,” the PM told media in Sydney.

“I’ve met people who have moved into regional Australia and are working in our capital cities, they’re working effectively because they can work online.”

The PM said the ability to work from home has been a hallmark of modern families and has offered an advantage to working mums.

“It has increased workforce participation, particularly for women,” he said.

The PM backed recent figures which suggested workers returning to the office full-time could be $5000 more out of pocket each year.

“The figures which are there are actually more if you are living in Sydney or Melbourne,” he said.

“The fact is people who are working from home are providing less traffic congestion… less crowding on public transport.

“It makes an enormous difference… in terms of their hip pocket.”

Albanese described the Opposition Leader as “out of touch” for his plan to require public servants to return to the office five days a week.

Dutton said earlier this month a Coalition government would mandate in-office work if elected.

“It will be an expectation of a Dutton Liberal Government that all members of the APS (Australian Public Service) work from the office five days a week,” Liberal senator and the opposition’s finance spokesperson Jane Hume said.

The Coalition said there will be exceptions on an individual basis.

“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,” Hume told the Menzies Research Centre, a Liberal-party aligned think tank.

“This is common sense policy that will instill 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.”

Dutton later softened his approach and said he wanted to see WFH return to “pre-COVID levels” when around 20 per cent of the workforce worked from home.

Albanese also took aim at Dutton’s proposal to sack 36,000 public service workers to match Labor’s $8.5 billion Medicare boost.

“The idea that there are people sitting around in Canberra doing nothing just shows how out of touch Peter Dutton is,” he added.

“He needs to show where this 36,000 in cuts will come from.”