Revolt brewing over Reserve Bank reform; Albanese says working-from-home can be ‘win-win’

Staying with the education minister, who has also spoken about the Fair Work Commission’s investigation into the productivity benefits of working from home.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said while the appropriateness of working from home depended on the job, for many people it provided flexibility as well as improvements in productivity, which the government was determined to boost.

Education Minister Jason Clare said the commission was looking at working-from-home rights and other aspects of the award.

“The pandemic showed us there are different ways of working,” he told Seven’s Sunrise program this morning.

“You need to apply common sense. Some jobs like … teachers, cops, nurses, ambos … you can’t work from home, [but] there are other jobs you can. Some are more productive when they work from home, others … aren’t.”

The minister said the key was common sense and flexibility, and the commission was examining if it worked for both companies and workers.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said there needed to be a balance on working from home.

“The unions are pushing much of this, and I worry that we don’t get that balance right. There are so many workers who can’t work from home, who don’t have that choice but … I agree, flexibility has to be right at the centre of this,” she said.