Australia’s opposition Liberal Party has abandoned its contentious election promises to force public servants back into offices full-time and slash 41,000 federal jobs, AP News reports.
The move marks a significant U-turn just weeks before the 3 May general election. Opposition leader Peter Dutton conceded the policies were flawed.
We made a mistake in relation to this policy. I think it’s important that we say that and recognise it and our intention was to make sure that where taxpayers are working hard and their money is being spent to pay wages that it’s being spent efficiently.
The revised plan will now retain flexible work arrangements and achieve job reductions through natural attrition and a hiring freeze rather than forced redundancies.
The retreat follows fierce criticism from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labour government, which accused the Liberals of copying US President Donald Trump’s hardline stance on office returns. Treasurer Jim Chalmers derided the opposition as “DOGE-y Dutton”, a jab linking Dutton to Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
Labour also highlighted the disproportionate impact on women, who often shoulder greater childcare responsibilities. Meanwhile, Albanese dismissed Dutton’s reversal as insincere.
He’s now pretending that that programme won’t proceed.
The debacle has handed Labour ammunition, with Employment Minister Murray Watt mocking Dutton’s “worst face lift in Australian history.”
This just shows Peter Dutton is all over the shop. Peter Dutton is in the process of trying to give himself the worst face lift in Australian history. But the problem for him is that he can change what he says, but he can’t change who he is.
As global leaders like Trump push office returns, Australia’s opposition now faces an uphill battle to rebrand its economic agenda.
