Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has issued a rare apology, admitting the Coalition “made a mistake” with its controversial plan to force public servants back into the office five days a week.
Appearing on Today, Dutton said the Coalition was listening to voters and had reversed its stance on ending flexible work arrangements in the public service. He accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of “twisting” the policy and wrongly implying it would extend to the private sector.
“We never had any intention for work-from-home changes that we were proposing in Canberra to apply across the private sector,” Dutton said.
“We’ve made a mistake in relation to the policy. We apologise for that. And we’ve dealt with it.”
The backflip comes just one week into the federal election campaign, following heavy criticism that the original policy would disproportionately impact women and working parents who rely on flexible arrangements.
Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume also softened the Coalition’s rhetoric, saying the party had “listened” and there would now be no change to current public service work-from-home policies.
“We understand that flexible work, including work from home, is part of getting the best out of any workforce.”
Dutton is also walking back on another controversial pledge — the proposed axing of 41,000 public service jobs. He now says these cuts would be achieved through natural attrition and a hiring freeze, rather than forced redundancies.
“There’s no change to the costing at all because the original plan of the natural attrition and the freezing was what we’d always had.”
The Coalition says the planned savings — originally estimated at $24 billion — would be redirected towards health and other priorities, although critics question whether this funding plan still stacks up.
Labor has pounced on the Coalition’s shifting stance, accusing Dutton of trying to “pretend” the original policies never existed. Prime Minister Albanese said flexible work is a vital part of modern family life.
“Peter Dutton and the Coalition want to end that flexibility, and it would have real consequences for Australian families,” Albanese warned.
“When Peter Dutton cuts, you pay.”
Labor’s analysis suggests women forced to give up flexible working could be up to $740 a week worse off in gross pay — a narrative the government had hoped to hammer home throughout the campaign.
But the Coalition’s policy U-turn may have blunted Labor’s attack line. Dutton maintains the change was a result of consultation, not political pressure.
“I think Labor’s been able to get away with twisting this,” he said.
“We’re not going to be framed up.”
Support our Journalism
Whether you live in Australia, UK, Canada, the USA or India, you can take a paid subscription by clicking on Patreon and support honest and fearless journalism.
