NSW Government doesn’t care about public sector jobs for the bush

"Today the NSW Liberal-National Government showed that it doesn’t care about returning Public Sector job opportunities to the bush by voting against the teleworking bill,” said Member for Barwon, Roy Butler.

The Government Sector Employment Amendment (Teleworking) Bill 2020 was introduced by the Member for Barwon to the NSW Parliament earlier this year. If passed, people from rural and regional NSW would have been able to apply to work remotely for the NSW Government where the role was deemed eligible.

“The Liberal-National Government had the chance today to provide employment, economic and career opportunities to people in regional NSW.

“In the debate today, we saw members of the Liberal-National Coalition tear down this bill, saying it wasn’t necessary for job creation in the regions. If I were their constituents, I’d be pretty disappointed in their actions.

“The Government’s vote against this bill today is even more frustrating and disappointing when you take into consideration their recently released NSW Remote Working Insights report.

“This Government owned report provides all the evidence you need to see the benefit of legislating widespread teleworking in the public service. That report states that those public servants who were working from home during the height of the pandemic reported producing 13% more work each hour compared to when they’re in the office. And yet the Government is now forcing them all back to the high-rise offices.

“I’m confident in saying the current Government policy on flexible work has failed and that the legislation I introduced was needed.

“Prior to the pandemic, just 18% of NSW public sector work was being done remotely. We know up to 44% of work the public sector undertakes could be done from anywhere in the State – not just the metropolitan areas.

“The passage of this bill would have had untold benefit for NSW and for communities in regional NSW, but today the Government has cut off its nose to spite its face.

“The bill wasn’t about me; it was about supporting regional NSW and the people that deserve to have the same job opportunities as people in metropolitan areas.

“In keeping with this Government’s track record I’ve no doubt it will move to implement the spirit of this bill through regulation. While it’s a disgusting waste of the Parliament’s time, to duplicate the work my team have done, I’m just after the outcome for regional NSW.”