Peter Dutton thought ending work from home for public servants would be a home run, but the Liberal leader is baulking now the policy appears to be striking out.
Labor senses its chance for a grand slam.
Backlash to policies resembling those favoured by Donald Trump and polling showing strong support for work from home have seemingly unnerved the coalition.
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“Peter Dutton’s personal satisfaction ratings have sunk like a stone to his lowest ever in YouGov’s public data poll since he tied himself to Trump-style policies of banning work from home and sacking 40,000 public sector workers,” YouGov’s Paul Smith said.
The measure also risks exposing a key vulnerability by turning off female voters.
Labor contends flexible work arrangements particularly benefit women who can take on more work while being able to look after children at home.
The share of women working full-time has increased from 54 per cent to 58 per cent as work-from-home arrangements have become more common since COVID-19, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.
This may also be due in part to increased public spending in traditionally female-dominated industries like health and child care, but studies have shown working from home has reduced the gender pay gap.
Labor analysis shows families with women forced to drop work as a result of cuts to flexibility arrangements could lose as much as $740 a week in income.
“Many parents work full-time, while making time for family. And with cost-of-living pressures, many families can’t afford it any other way,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“Peter Dutton and the coalition want to end that flexibility, and it would have real consequences for Australian families.”
The government has taken the coalition’s policy and run with it, while Dutton has walked it back.
Neither public servants nor work-from-home mandates featured in a campaign speech to supporters in Tasmania on Sunday.
Dutton’s only references to the policy in recent days have been to water down his earlier promise to force all public servants back to the office five days a week.
“I strongly support work from home,” he told reporters in Darwin over the weekend.
“I’ve been very clear about that and our policy … doesn’t have any impact on the public sector outside of Canberra.”
That’s a clear change in rhetoric from comments by opposition workplace spokeswoman Michaelia Cash on March 6.
“It is an expectation of a Dutton government that the Australian Public Service will move towards returning to work five days a week from the office,” she told Sydney radio station 2SM.