Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin stops short of promising to ban WFH for public service

Opposition Leader Brad Battin has said big changes are needed to help revitalise Melbourne’s CBD but remained tight-lipped about potentially forcing the state’s public service back to the office.

Victoria’s opposition has stopped short of promising to force the state’s public service back to the office five days a week.

However, Opposition Leader Brad Battin has suggested that significant changes are necessary to help rejuvenate Melbourne’s CBD.

On Tuesday, Mr Battin said the Coalition had “a whole policy process to go through” in relation to WFH arrangements in the public sector and would not rule out a mandate to return to the office five days a week.

When asked to clarify the opposition’s stance, Mr Battin said; “we do have to find a way to revitalise the city. How do we get people back into the city? It’s not necessarily just saying a mandate is going to work.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin has suggested significant changes are needed to rejuvenate Melbourne’s CBD. Picture: Aaron Francis

“Melbourne City Council is going through this process now, but up in Sydney and Brisbane and Adelaide, they’re all revitalising their capital cities. If we don’t have a vibrant capital city long-term, then the state will struggle.

“I’m a big believer, if we can rebuild the businesses in Victoria, particularly in Melbourne, and we can start to see that growth and people wanting to come back into the city, we’re going to see a better state growing our economy long-term, and that’s the best outcome.”

It follows remarks from shadow treasurer James Newbury on Sunday, who urged the state government to require public servants to work from their offices full-time.

Mr Newbury’s comments came in response to concerns about high-income earners, some making up to $400,000 annually, being hired for the controversial Suburban Rail Loop project with generous remote work opportunities.

Mr Battin said he agreed with Mr Newbury’s concern, and the point he made that nurses, police, teachers and doctors did not have the option to work from home but also said a mandate was necessarily the answer.

Victorian shadow treasurer James Newbury has urged the state government to require public servants to work from their offices full-time. Picture: David Caird

The Victorian Public Service flexible work policy is three days a week in the office which can be tailored to match a person’s job and personal circumstances.

The Labor Victorian government pledged that work-from-home policies were here to stay within the state’s public sector after new state Liberal shadow Treasurer public raised concerns about new executives being offered the work perk.

A Victorian government spokesman told the Herald Sun on Sunday that WFH was an important policy for many and called on the opposition to state their policy on the record publicly.

“We know that flexibility in the workplace is important to Victorian families, and we have no plans to change it,” they told the Herald Sun.

“The Liberal Party need to stop attacking workers and come clean on what their plan is.”

On Sunday, Victoria’s public sector union Karen Batt responded to Mr Newbury’s comments, saying flexibility was key.

“The pandemic reshaped views about promoting greater work flexibility with schedules and locations to retain and attract key personnel,” she said.

“Only about one person in every six work in jobs that suit this flexible model and the vast majority are women so playing wedge politics about this modern work approach just creates unnecessary division, which seems to be the shadow Treasurers intention, when it’s proven to help employers as well.”

Originally published as Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin stops short of promising to ban WFH for public service