‘Good for women’: Pallas under fire for ‘careless’ WFH comment

Treasurer Tim Pallas has been asked to apologise to women for saying working from home was particularly good for them, with a shadow minister labelling his views “outdated and condescending”.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said working from home arrangements helped women in the public sector ‘organise their home responsibilities’. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Treasurer Tim Pallas is facing calls to apologise after saying working from home arrangements were particularly good for women.

In what has been described as the “most careless comment from a politician in some while” Mr Pallas told a post-budget breakfast hybrid arrangements allowed women to attend to the home.

“There’s nothing necessarily unproductive about a period of time spent working from home,” he said.

“Certainly a lot of women see that it becomes liberating for them in terms of organising their home responsibilities.”

The comments came during a Q&A session at a Property Council of Australia budget breakfast on Friday morning.

Mr Pallas said he doubted public servants would ever return to the office full time and rejected assertions that put them at odds with the private sector.

Mr Pallas made the ‘careless’ remark at a Property Council of Australia budget breakfast on Friday morning. Picture: David Caird

“I know that there are a lot of people struggling with the post-Covid environment,” he said.

“We’ve seen a return back to public service offices of about three days in five.

“I think those numbers are broadly approximate to the sort of return to work that the inner city CBD is seeing.

“From our (the government’s) perspective, we think that we are going to have to recognise we have to make work more attractive to get people back to work.

“I just dispute the principal proposition that says working from the office five days a week is inherently more productive.”

His comments regarding women’s “home responsibilities” drew audible gasps from sections of the audience.

One former senior public official described the comments as “the most careless comment from a politician in some while”.

Another said Mr Pallas was “living in the 1950s.”

Shadow minister for women, Cindy McLeish, called on Mr Pallas to apologise for the comments.

“While the government tell us they are focused on gender equality, one of Labor’s most senior male cabinet ministers shows just how out of touch he is, thinking women should still do the lion’s share of home responsibilities,” she said.

“Treasurer Tim Pallas must apologise to Victorian women for his outdated and condescending comments”.

Originally published as ‘Good for women’: Pallas under fire for ‘careless’ WFH comment